Sin's Return
by Mechanist
Summary: Set as if Tidus and Auron never died, and Seymour didn't happen. When Sin rises again, A new hero rises, with Auron as his conscience. As do new villains...Rated T for cursing. Slight Kingdom Hearts crossover. Review and I will do the same!
1. Preface

Preface

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X, though it is a good game---and the first Final Fantasy I ever played. I also do not own the song 'Someday" by Sugar Ray. If you're confused about that, you'll understand in a little while by reading this fanfic**

* * *

The fireworks and singing echoed in the twilight skies of the city of Bevelle. It was Calm Day the day that the great monster Sin had been wiped off the face of Spira by High Summoner Yuna and her guardians. The giant whale like creature had terrorized the planet for a thousand years. It had been a divine punishment for the arrogance of the people, from the god of light Erth. A thousand years ago Spira was a modern world. Cars ran in the highways of its cities, and robots did all of the work. But the people became more and more arrogant, asking more and more of Erth the creator, and the other gods. Finally, in anger they cast Sin down on the world. It fell on Zanarkand, the capital city of Spira. After decimating the city, the monster continued to mount unannounced attacks on the world's settlements. Over the years, the people of Spira, believing the gods had abandoned them had turned to the Church of Yevon, a small cult. Soon, what had been a small cult was the main religion and government of Spira. Anyone who did not obey this rule was declared a heretic. The race of people known as the Al Bhed did not recognize Yevon at all. Thus did Yevon ostracize them.

The Yevonites not only worshipped the gods, but rather certain spirits of the dead as well. They called these the _fayth_. To become a fayth, one had to die. Then the person denied themselves the happiness, Erth's realm, the Farplane to become imprisoned in stone. The damned spirit was then used to summon an _aeon._ These were creatures that protected the particular fayth's worshipper. A person with multiple aeons was a summoner. As Sin was Spira's sorrow, summoners were Spira's happiness. They and their assigned bodyguards, or _guardians_ went on a pilgrimage to Zanarkand. The city was no longer a place of light and activity. Instead, the spirits of the dead called _unsent _wandered its ruined streets. In the Dome, a great ruined structure of past glory, the summoner and a chosen guardian entered. There they were greeted by Lady Yunalesca, once a great priestess of Yevon, or rather her unsent spirit. Yunalesca would make the chosen guardian into a fayth. This was called the "Final Aeon. Then the summoner went to fight Sin. The Final Aeon would destroy Sin…but the summoner would die, consumed by the summoning. The Aeon however wasn't as lucky. Sin's core would survive and consume the unwilling soul, and regenerate. The process took ten years. This period of peace was called the Calm. It was a time for happiness laughter, and a little sorrow for the summoner, and for the guardian who gave his or her life, to "kill" Sin.In addition to defeating Sin, summoners had other duties around Spira, helping people as they made their way to Zanarkand, and performing Sendings. The Sending was a ritual dance preformed only by a summoner for someone who had died. The ritual sent the spirit of the departed to the Farplane, and eternal joy. If the Sending was not preformed within two, to three days however, the person could come back as an unsent. Unlike the fayth, who willingly denied their souls eternal peace to help others, and were sealed in temples, unsent were free spirits of the dead who felt for some reason the need to linger in the world of the living. Unsents were reviled by Yevon. It was an abomination of life itself for an unsent to exist. Then one day all of this had changed. The young summoner, only sixteen, Yuna daughter of High Summoner Braska, had defeated Sin forever, along with the help of her six guardians. They had faced many trials. They had also discontinued (to put it nicely) the use of the Final Aeon. They had learned from Yunalesca, who happened to be Yuna's distant ancestor that Sin always came back because of the Final Aeon's sacrifice. They had refused to sacrifice a guardian to her and, enraged Yunalesca attacked them. They defeated the unsent and Yuna promptly Sent her to the Farplane. Thus, with the help of the Al Bhed and a huge airship (one of the forbidden machines, or _machina) _they had entered Sin. There they defeated its core and destroyed the scourge of Spira, once and for all. Now on July fourth 2005, the people of Spira celebrated their release.


	2. Shiava

ShiavA

Shiava Horst pondered the above, as he sat on a rooftop railing at the Palace of St. Bevelle. The boy watched the fireworks fill the sky with their multicolored light. Although only seventeen, Shiava was already a graduated Firstblade, an elite order of warriors, who directly served the measters of Yevon. The measters were the high priests. They were the highest order you could attain. Yevon's system of government worked like this: each species technically had its own nation. All areas of Spira had some kind of leader. The civilized nations had their own sovereign ruler, who in turn had to report to the measters, the high priests of Yevon. The measters then reported to the Grand Measter. The Grand Measter "controlled" all of this. Technically they didn't have much real power. The nations were simply united under the Yevon church. Shiava looked out over the city of Bevelle. It was lit with lights. Since the fall of Zanarkand, Bevelle had been the capital of Spira. Its skyscrapers were lit with electric lights and its highways were buzzing with traffic.

Shiava turned from the sight to catch a glimpse of himself in a window. He was an unusual looking person. A pale seventeen year old, with white hair and bright violet eyes stared at him from the glass. This was because he was a sword mage. Sword mages were very, very rare. They were people who had the gift to hear the voices of otherwise inanimate objects, such as stone or wood. Sword mages always were born with white hair and violet eyes. Sword magery had been in the Horst family for over five generations. It wasn't consistent. Shiava didn't exactly mind being one. If you were a sword mage you could learn to shut out the voices of the objects around you, it was actually very easy. As he looked at the fireworks, Shiava wished that he had been part of the team to defeat Sin. High Summoner Yuna had needed many guardians to help her. There was Tidus, Yuna's lover. Then Wakka a blitzball captain from Besaid Island. Kimhari, a stern Ronso. The Ronso were blue furred catlike beings that lived on the far away Mt. Gazett. Yuna's hyperactive cousin Rikku was a guardian. Lulu, a sorceress, and then there was Sir Auron. Sir Auron was legendary in Spira. He was the only person to come back alive from fighting Sin, twelve years ago with Yuna's father. He was a master swordsman. It was said no man could stand against him. He then helped Yuna and her guardians overcome Sin. Auron had been Shiava's hero since he could remember. That was why he'd wanted to be a Firstblade. Then he could become like his hero.

"Hey Shiava! Are you going to keep sitting around like that?"

Shiava turned to see his best friend, Arnis Kelsin standing behind him. The other boy had climbed up to the roof. Arnis was another Firstblade. He and Shiava had entered the Palace school at the same time at age nine. They had been inseparable friends ever since. The two of them were quite popular. While Arnis was more handsome and charming, with his blond hair and brown eyes, Shiava was more to the point. They made a good pair. There was, however one more addition to the group.

"Hey Shi, Arnis what're you doing up there? Talking about me I'll bet."

Arenna Cedric climbed up the steps. Her long brown hair hung down to her back. Arenna was a beautiful person. She was tall and thin with large brown eyes. She was also a Firstblade. There was also one other thing special about her to Shiava. She was his girlfriend. Unlike Shiava and Arnis and most other people, Arenna hadn't joined the Palace school to become a Firstblade at age nine. Instead she had joined at age twelve, knowing nothing about swords. There was a reason for this. Arenna had experienced a bad childhood. The daughter of a summoner and a high ranking Yevon official, Lord Hugh Cedric, Arenna's life might have been pure luxury and love. Instead, while it had been luxury, there had been no love. For Arenna's birth had not been Lord Cedric's pride and joy. It had been his shame and sorrow. Hugh had fallen in love with a summoner as a young official. They were both young and in love. But the summoner knew that she must go off to fight Sin, and would not return. Thus in the priests cloisters in the Palace of St. Bevelle they spent their last night together. A few months after this Arenna was born while the summoner was on her pilgrimage across Spira. A servant was sent in the dead of night to fetch the baby girl and take her to Lord Hugh's estate. There she was raised in secret by servants for nine years. Lord Hugh was trying to become a measter, and he knew all too well that if the knowledge of his illegitimate child were to get out, his opponents would use it against him. Then one fateful day, nine year old Arenna had wandered dead into the middle of a conference of aristocrats who were backing him. After he had said strongly that he wasn't married. Needless to say he lost the chance. For the next three years, now angry and bitter, Lord Hugh Cedric pondered what to with his daughter. Then he had an idea. Send her to Firstblade school. She could learn academics and sword skills. And if she was killed in the service of the measters so much the better!

So, Arenna joined the Palace school at age twelve. By this time however, word had already spread of Lord Hugh Cedric's shame. In the beginning the other children teased Arenna mercilessly. The teachings of Yevon spoke out strongly against children out of wedlock, and all of these children had been raised on the teachings. The teachers tried to stop it but they couldn't be everywhere, and they couldn't stop the word "bastard" from being etched on Arenna's practice sword. They couldn't make the kids stay with Arenna instead of moving away when she sat at their table. And they couldn't stop the girls from giving Arenna nasty looks when she passed them, because they though Arenna would steal their boyfriends. Only Shiava had been willing to accept her. He had seen her crying on the steps. He sat down to comfort her. Arenna, thinking it was preparation for another bullying had finally had enough. She had hauled off and punched him in the face. Shiava had collapsed onto the marble steps laughing. When Arenna had demanded what was so funny, he explained he had been trying to comfort her. She was horrified, and they had been the best of friends since. As the years went on, their friendship became deeper. Shiava would always wonder why Arenna hadn't chosen Arnis as her boyfriend. Perhaps it was because, while Arnis hadn't teased her, he hadn't gone out of his way like Shiava had to stop the teasing.

"So what should we do this fine Calm Day night?" Arnis asked.

Shiava shrugged indifferently. "I don't know, don't really care. What would Bevelle have to offer three seventeen year olds like us this early? It's only five 'o clock."

Arnis smiled mischievously. "What if I told you there was a way to imitate High Summoner Yuna and her guardians' heroics?"

"I might be interested."

"You could imitate them….inside Sin!"

Arenna looked horrified. "I…I can't believe that you're doing this…it's against the law for one thing…second of all there might be fiends and such…"

Fiends were monsters that inhabited Spira. They were unsents who had lost their humanity and now roamed in hideous form, looking for living people to rip to shreds.

"Arenna, Arenna, where's your spirit of adventure? You're usually the most adventurous of all of us!"

"Yeah", agreed Shiava, "you usually come up with all the wacky ideas".

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about it."

After much badgering and arguing, they succeeded in getting Arenna to give in. The three of them headed out. They buckled on their red handled swords, marking them as Firstblades

Shiava glance at Arenna. She was frowning severely. "Jeez Arenna, lighten up. You look like Measter Mika."

Shiava was referring to Grand Measter Mika, the head of the Yevon church, and therefore the head of the government. He was extremely old. No one knew what his age was. He had been elderly when Shiava's parents were small children!

"How dare you compare me to that old geezer!? He looks like he's been sucking shoopuff droppings!"

"Arenna!" Shiava was shocked. He couldn't believe that his girlfriend had just insulted the Grand Measter. Even Arnis looked a bit surprised.

Arnis turned and said, half mocking, half serious "how could you say something like that?"

Arenna didn't look the least bit sorry. "Because when I first came to the Palace of St. Bevelle to learn to be a Firstblade, I had to be introduced to the different measters. When I was introduced to Mika, he looked at me, and then he just looked at the maid who was with me, and said, in that stupid, crackly voice, 'is this the illegitimate child of Lord Hugh's?' Then the bastards started talking about illegits being against the stupid Teachings of Yevon."

Shiava looked at Arenna. Her normally cheerful face was dark with bad memories.

"So", he said to change the subject, "isn't the Palace pretty tonight?"

It was true. The Palace of St. Bevelle was taller than any other building in the city. It took up three whole sections of the city. It was made of white marble, veined with red and blue stone. Its delicate archways and bridges looked so fragile, that it seemed a bird might break them, yet they were extremely sturdy. It had four towers, all pointing straight up toward the sky. In the sunset the sun's last rays caught the gold spires of the towers with blood red brilliance. Extending from the side of the Palace was Seawall Bridge. It encompassed the sea on the west side of Bevelle. This had been built in the Age of Despair, to keep Sin from attacking Bevelle. The Bridge was actually useless. Made of the same beautiful stone as the Palace, it was more a beauty affair than protection. Cars crossed up and down its length.

* * *

Soon they had come to the outskirts of the city. This area was abandoned, and had been for two years since Sin had crashed down among the buildings here. The place was eerily quiet after the hustle and bustle of Bevelle. Then they reached Sin. The giant whale like creature's body had not decayed in the least. It could still be seen from space. The monster was the biggest thing on Spira. It was the size of a city and a half. Pyreflies floated around the body, and amongst the abandoned buildings. Pyreflies were small motes of colored light, the size of tennis balls. They hung around ancient or mystical places, "_Or, _Shiava thought, thinking of all the creepy stories of unsents he had heard, _around the walking dead"._

Arenna stopped and looked at the monster's body. She folded her hands on her hips triumphantly. She turned to Arnis. "Alright Mister Smarty Pants, how are we going to get in?"

Arnis smiled. "We'll make out own entrance in, custom made for us!" he said drawing his sword. Before anyone could say anything, he had cut a hole in the monster's gigantic side. In comparison to Sin's actual size the hole was microscopic.

The three friends entered the hole. They were immediately plunged into a strange dimly lit place. It was totally unlike what the inside of a gigantic monster was supposed to be like. They stood in a large misty area.

"The Sea of Sorrow", said Arnis. He began to walk forward, his sword drawn. Shiava and Arenna did the same, keeping their swords ready for any bloodthirsty fiends.

Soon they reached a strange platform. After climbing the massive steps they found themselves in a huge stone city.

"Something's wrong", Shiava said. It was _quiet _here. Usually he would here the ancient voices of the stone in his head. But now there was an eerie, deathly silence.

"We are in the City of Dying Dreams", said Arnis almost reverently. He touched the walls carefully. As they made their way through the place, Shiava felt the hair on his arms and neck rise. Something horrible was going to happen. He could smell it.


	3. Evil Revived

Evil Revived

As they walked down the street in the City of Dying Dreams, Shiava looked at Arena. She hadn't said a word during their whole adventure inside. She was worriedly biting her lip, and twisting the Promise Ring on her finger. It was a silver band set with turquoise runes and symbols. Shiava had given it to her on her sixteenth birthday, the day after they had decided to become more than just friends. Shiava had one of his own. It was silver and set with black runes and symbols. He wore it along with a few other rings on various fingers. It matched his clothes. Shiava liked to wear black. He was wearing a short black jacket with silver crosses emblazoned on the forearms over a white shirt. He also had black pants with a white belt buckle saying DB Baby! His shoes were also black. Once they had been in a mall and buying earrings. Shiava had been about to reach for black diamond shaped rings when Arenna yelled "By the gods Shiava! Do you _ever _wear anything other than black?!" . To offset this he had chosen to use to gold rings in one ear instead of black. Arenna on the other hand liked purple. She always wore purple pants and tunics with multicolored earrings. Arnis wore long navy blue shorts that came to his ankles. His shirt was the same color. He wore a strange red armguard and ankle high yellow boots. His sword scabbard was also red. His whole outfit was covered with different buckles and fastens.

As the three turned into another avenue, they could see that they were nearing the end of the City.

"Look! Look! It's another place!" Shiava shouted, running ahead. Arnis grabbed a hold of the back of Shiava's shirt. "What the heck was that for?!" asked Shiava angrily.

"Did you forget about the possibility of fiends being here?" asked Arnis.

"Well…I…well…oh whatever!" was the response.

Arenna walked put her hand nervously in Shiava's. She looked a lot less nervous than before. "Hey Shi, look at these old carvings. I wonder who made these?"

"I don't know" was Shiava's answer. He didn't really feel like talking. It was hard enough trying to fight down his fear of this strange, evil place. And it was evil alright. He could sense it in an overwhelming sort of way, that doesn't take a sword mage to figure out.

Soon they arrived at a tower. Shiava looked up and was surprised to see that instead of a fleshy ceiling there was a clear night sky. He could see the stars clearly. He suddenly knew where they were. They were in a large cluster of ancient stone structures, the size of a village that rested on top of Sin. The tower was a huge structure made of stone. It pointed up to the star filled sky like a finger.

"The Tower of the Dead" said Arnis. He walked up to it. As Shiava walked up to it, he felt his growing sense of evil triple. He looked around nervously, but there wasn't anything threatening around.

Arenna stepped up to the Tower. "It's really old" she said. "I guess it has to date back a thousand years to the Forsaking." The Forsaking was the time; a thousand years ago that Sin had come to Spira.

Shiava walked up and touched the Tower wall. There didn't seem to be any doors. Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light. Shiava felt himself fly through a blue and green space….

When his vision cleared, Shiava found himself in a stadium like place. It had some kind of balcony that overlooked a large pit filled with rainbow colored, gelatinous goop. "I wonder where we are." Shiava looked into the pit. Arnis and Arenna came up behind him. Arenna was _really_ playing with her promise ring now.

"Wha….what is this place? It's really creeping me out" she complained.

"We are in Dream's End" said Arnis. He seemed to be in awe of everything around him. His face was flushed and he was breathing rapidly. "I've always wanted to be here" he said.

Before Shiava could ask the obvious "why?" a sudden movement attracted the three friends' attention. A small white light had risen from the pit and was facing them. It simply hung there, watching them.

"Hey Arenna, why don't you go over and look at it. It might cure your nervousness." Shiava didn't know where this suggestion came from. It just seemed to come to him. He thought that, maybe if Arenna was able to touch that light, which was certainly an unexpected visitor, she could overcome her skittishness about this place. When Shiava looked at the light he felt his feelings of evil surge for a moment, then vanish as though gently wiped away.

Arenna turned and reached for the light. She was breathing raggedly and her face was pale with fear. Suddenly Shiava's previous feelings returned and he screamed at her not to touch it, but it was in vain. As Arenna's long fingers connected with the light she let out a scream of pain and shock. With a horrible squelching sound, she was pulled into the ball. Suddenly, things in Dream's End changed very fast. The air became tinged with a strange foul smelling mist, the color of dried blood. The smell made Shiava gag and retch, and it addled his mind. Then, in his rapidly fading mind he knew what this was. Sin's toxin! Sin left a deadly toxin behind that could kill if one came to close. At it's mildest it caused confusion and disorientation for a few days. Other times it left people brain damaged for life. Shiava knew its foul smell from when Sin had once passed by Bevelle in the sea. As the hideous miasma floated nearer, Shiava felt a thrill of horror. He backed away. Suddenly, he was once again floating through the blue green space. Then he was in the City of Dying Dreams. He stumbled through the Sea of Sorrow. He suddenly found himself back outside Sin.

A sudden, horrid sound behind him made him turn in fear. It sounded half like a whale's noise but with a touch of a human screaming in hatred and pain. It was a deafening, unholy sound. Then, a more horrifying thing passed before the seventeen year old sword mage's eyes. Sin was rising.


	4. A Dream Come True?

A Dream Come True?

The giant creature was lifting up into the air. It's long, whip like tail swung, clearing off the derelict buildings like child's blocks. As it rose pieces of its scales broke off. They buried themselves in the highway. As Shiava watched in horror, they began unraveling into gray creatures, each the size of a large dog. They had a pair of short stubby wings. These were Sinscales, creatures that came from Sin's cast off scales. Shiava had only seen them in pictures in books. He didn't know how to fight them at all. He had zoned out when _that_ lesson was being taught. It was too late now though. With a wild exclamation, Shiava rushed one of the creatures. "Die abomination!" he shrieked. The creature scuttled out of the way. Its fanged mouth opened spraying a cluster of spines into his side. "Arrgh!" Shiava screamed in pain. Another Sinscale hit him hard in the back. Shiava went sprawling. He landed heavily on his back, knocking the breath from his body. A Sinscale landed next to him. Its mouth opened. It began to scuttle over to his body. _"Please…just let death be quick…"_ Shiava thought fearfully. He couldn't believe his life of seventeen years was going to end tonight. He closed his eyes and waited for the end. At least he was going to eternal paradise on the Farplane.

But the end didn't come.

Startled, Shiava sat up, clutching his side. The Sinscale in question lay dead, sliced almost in two. Shiava looked up and gasped. The Sinscale's killer stood over him. He was a tall middle aged man dressed in a red robe that was open at the top so Shiava could see the black armor underneath. While his left arm was in the sleeve of his robe, his right was in a sling made by the other sleeve .The man's hair was black, and shot with gray. Dark sunglasses barely hid a long deep scar that ran from his forehead to his chin. A hip flask hung from a multicolored string of beads at his side, and his steel soled boots were polished to shining. Sir Auron looked down at the trembling boy.

"Are you alright?"

Shiava looked up too much in shock to talk. Being taken inside Sin, getting attacked by Sinscales, then being saved by the person he had hero worshipped from the time he was little was all a bit too much to handle.

"I asked are you all right?" Auron's voice sounded a bit impatient.

"Y…yeah…I'm fine" Shiava said getting up slowly. He brushed himself of.

"Boy, I need you to get to the Palace. Warn the measters!" Auron shouted.

"I will!" Shiava shouted. As he turned to run, the ground began to shake. As he watched in horror, a new wave of Sinscales broke off of Sin. Then, a bigger mass seemed to sprout from an area under Sin's right fin. It was a large, black, diamond shaped _something. _The thing rocketed off and slammed into a nearby skyscraper. Shiava recognized it aSinspawn, creatures that broke off of Sin just like Sinscales. Sinspawn were bigger and more dangerous.

Sir Auron ran off in the direction of were the Sinspawn has gone. He gave Shiava an impatient gesture to get moving. Shiava took off down the sidewalk toward the Palace. Suddenly Shiava had an inspiration. He, Shiava Horst would fight alongside Sir Auron! Turning rapidly, Shiava ran as fast as his legs would carry him. Finally he reached the area where the Sinspawn had landed. When he got there, Sir Auron was facing a veritable army of Sinscales who had gathered in front of the Sinspawn.

"Didn't I tell you to warn the measters boy!?" Auron demanded.

"I…I wanted to fight! I think I can do it!" Shiava shouted confidently. "I am a Firstblade after all" he added in somewhat dejected tones.

Auron stared at Shiava for a while. Then his eyes behind the sunglasses closed. "Very well".

Shiava tore his sword from its scabbard. Its red handle and silver blade gleamed brightly in the sparks and small fires from the shattered, ruined neon signs. Auron then drew his own sword. Shiava gasped. The legendary guardian's sword blade was a deep black that did not reflect the light. It was a huge weapon, meant for massive two handed blows. It had no hilt, but it did have a thick green and gold handle. A golden symbol was emblazoned on the black blade.

A Sinscale leaped at Shiava. This time however, he was prepared for the assault. The young sword mage leaped back as it shot its spines at him. He swung his sword, chopping off one of its wings. Green blood spurted from the injury, and the dog sized monster made a noise of rage and pain. With that the boy swiped its front end off. Panting with exertion, Shiava turned to face the other enemies. A Sinscale launched itself at Sir Auron. Auron suddenly removed his left arm from its sling, grasping his sword in both hands. With one swipe of his sword, Auron cut the creature in two. Whirling his sword expertly, the legend whipped the heads and wings off of a dozen more. Within a few minutes fifty of the seventy Sinscales facing them were dead. As the battle raged back and fourth, Shiava thought of the irony of it all. Arenna had been sucked into a weird ball of light, Arnis was missing, and here he was fighting alongside the man he considered a hero. It was like his best dream and worst nightmare at the same time. At this point Auron shouted a warning. Shiava looked up to see the Sinspawn unravel several segmented tentacles from its black diamond shaped body.

"Are you ready?" Sir Auron asked in his deep voice.

"Y...yes Sir " was the reply.

They faced the Sinspawn. The creature swung a tentacle. It hit Shiava in the stomach, sending him retching and gasping onto the ground. Auron rushed past him. He swung his sword, biting into the monster's flesh. It shrieked, not unlike Sin. It swung a tentacle, and caught him, sending his staggering back. Shiava came up from behind. Stabbing into the thing with all his might, he saw and felt the green blood wash over his sword and hands. After what seemed like a millennium, the Sinspawn gave a horrid cry and pitched over. Pyreflies flew from its torn body. Shiava tottered on his feet. His arms felt as if they were going to fall off. Sir Auron looked at him. In the midst of his pain and exhaustion, Shiava thought he saw admiration behind the sunglasses. Then he fainted.


	5. Disturbing Revalations

Disturbing Revelations

_The girl was sitting on the marble steps of the Palace of St. Bevelle. Her long brown hair was wet with tears, and her pale face was red with crying. Arenna Cedric cried her heart out. _

_The boy walked down the steps of the Palace. He saw the girl sitting there in misery. "What's going on? Why are you crying?" _

_The girl turned her tearstained face to him. "I…I'm crying because…no one likes me…I didn't even do anything to them… it's just because…because my parents weren't married!" She burst into heartbroken sobs.  
Shiava Horst sat down on the steps beside her. He wasn't very good at comforting people at age twelve, but he tried. Putting his hand on the girl's shoulder he searched for the right words. "I…well…I…hey! _

_She had hauled off and punched him in the face! He went sprawling down the steps. His first thought was anger. Then, he realized why she had punched him. His laughter filled the hallway inside. She looked at him in anger. _

_"Just what the hell do you think is so funny? You think it's _fun_ to laugh at illegits?! _

_"No…it's just…I was just trying to help…and you thought I was going to tease you" Shiava could hardly talk because of laughing. _

_"Oh Erth's Light! I'm so sorry!" Arenna bent down and helped him up. _

_"Don't mention it." _

* * *

Shiava sat bolt upright in his bed in the Palace. He looked wildly around. Then he relaxed, contemplating the hideous dream he had experienced. What a wretchednightmare! Arenna being sucked into a light, Sin's resurrection, Sir Auron thinking he had potential as a good fighter. It was ridiculous. Sin was dead. High Summoner Yuna had made sure of that. As Shiava rose from his bed he gasped suddenly as a sharp pain pieced his side with white hot needles. Sudden fear pierced Shiava's mind. As the haze of sleep began to lift he recalled the day before. He looked down. He was still wearing his clothes from yesterday! They were ripped and torn. And there was dried blood caked on his side. _It had all happened._ Shiava changed into and exact duplicate of his other clothes. He had about ten of the same outfits. Arenna used to laugh at that. That brought another pang of fear. What had happened to Arenna? Was she dead? And what, for that matter had happened to Arnis? Was he even still alive? When the toxin had come, Shiava had made a wild break for it. He hadn't even checked if his best friend was all right. He felt guilty about this.

Shiava brushed his teeth and went to find a bandage for his side. It was really killing him. After he had done this, Shiava went down the stairs of the Firstblade quarters and into the main Palace. Suddenly a voice stopped him as he was going into a hallway.

"Hey Shiava!"

It was Arnis. Looking perfectly well Arnis walked over to Shiava. He looked pretty good for having barely survived the ordeal last night. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Why?" asked Shiava.

"Measter Andrick is looking for you. He wants to talk to all the Firstblades, even cadets and new trainees."

Measter Andrick was the head of the Firstblade order. He oversaw the affairs of everything in the order. In addition to that he had the title of measter, meaning he was a part of the governing body of Spira. Only Grand Measter Mika was higher.

Shiava followed Arnis to the Training Hall. Immediately arriving he knew something was wrong. Instead of the usual sounds of swords swishing, and the noises of grunting and swearing as Firstblades completed their exercises, there was an eerie silence as Firstblades, from the most senior, to the nine year olds who were students gathered along the walls. As Shiava and Arnis walked in they were greeted by Measter Andrick himself. The measter was a balding, rotund man in his late fifties. He his round face was usually kind and cheerful. But today a cloud seemed to have fallen over him. Beneath his orange robes, his shoulders slumped. As they came in he ushered them into the room. "Firstblades of Yevon, it is indeed a black day for Spira." The measter drew a deep, shuddering breath. "Sin has…been resurrected."

The result was as funny as it was horrible. The room fell apart. Some people gasped, others dropped their weapons with a loud clatter, and others burst into tears. Others began alternately cursing or praying to the gods.

"Silence! Order, order!" Measter Andrick's voice was stern. "It is horrible. We had thought that 'High Summoner' Yuna and her friends had vanquished Spira's nightmare forevermore. I see this was not the case. You, as Firstblades will be expected to help the people."

The assembled Firstblades nodded in acknowledgement of their duties. Shiava looked on in mute horror. It was like some kind of terrible dream, where you are helpless in the face of a giant threat. Measter Andrick seemed to notice Shiava's tortured, pale face because his expression quickly became concerned. "Are you alright Shiava?" he asked.

"Yeah, I…I'm fine…it's just the shock…" he muttered vaguely.

As he staggered from the room, Shiava didn't notice the strange, knowing expression on Arnis' face.

* * *

As Shiva made his way through the halls, horrid thoughts raced through his mind, each worse than the last. **He** had awakened Sin. He had gotten Arenna to touch the white light, which he now recognized as the beast's core. He had made Arenna …Sin. Shiava brushed his hand over his face as he felt tears sting his eyes. What could he do? Who could he tell? Who would believe him? He considered going to Grand Measter Mika, but it would take forever to get an audience with the old man. Maybe the other measters. Then he decided against the whole idea. Telling the measters would mean telling them that the three of them were inside Sin. He could be executed. Then nothing would get accomplished. As his vision cleared, Shiava realized he had stumbled into the section of the Palace that was devoted to the gods. Huge murals of the five gods decorated the ceiling. Erth, the Creator, god of light, Darkness, god of void, Keeper, goddess of neutrality, Verkadh, god of dragons and Al Bhed, and Puppet, god of death. It was he who led the souls of the dead to the paradise of Erth's realm, the Farplane.

The eyes of the gods seemed to accuse him. He decided to say a small prayer. Kneeling at the alter of Erth, he muttered, "Erth, god of goodness and light, please hear my prayer. Please grant me the wisdom and strength to deal with this trial in my life."

Having said this, Shiava felt at least a little of his gloom shift. He sat silently, listening to the old voices, the whispery voices of the stones of the Palace. Suddenly he was aware of a presence near him. Arnis stood in the area, his face lifted to the high ceiling. "Nice to see you, Shiava."

"Arnis", Shiava said a little surprised. Suddenly, as if in answer to his prayers, an idea occurred to him. "High Summoner Yuna! Arnis, if we can talk to her she'll help us beat Sin, and free Arenna! She and her guardians!"

There was a strange silence. Then, quite unexpectedly Arnis laughed.

"A fine plan Shiava. I also had a similar one that involves Lady Yuna. However, before I reveal this plan, you must know something of my beliefs in Yevon…and in the gods."

Shiava waited, unconsciously holding his breath. He had a sudden feeling of impending disaster. It is the same instinct that causes birds to quiet before a storm, or dogs to bark before an earthquake.

"I have always, from the time I was a small boy, believed that Sin was not a curse from the gods but rather….a means of keeping balance. It kills thousands every year, yet leaves others spared. It keeps the population down; it gave us Yevon to govern us. It is a blessing surely not a curse!"

Arnis' green eyes were glowing with a strange light. It was as if he had waited a lifetime to say these words.

Shiava gave a shaky laugh. "A…Arnis th…this really isn't the time for jokes…I mean Arenna's Sin, and we've… we've got to do something."

"I'm not joking Shiava."

Somehow, Shiava realized this was true. A cold feeling developed in the pit of his stomach. Sin was a horrible monster that left a trail of blood, death, and destruction wherever it went on Spira. Shiava couldn't believe that anyone would think that Sin was a good thing.

"You're crazy" he said to Arnis, backing away from his friend. He couldn't believe his best friend of eight years was telling him this. He had to be insane.

What's the matter with you, Shiava? I simply want to return Spira to the way it was two years ago…the way it has been for over a thousand years."

"You can't do that!"

"Why can't I? You people can't seem to understand what I'm talking about."

"But surely the gods didn't mean for the world to live in fear of death constantly!"

"I know they didn't. They meant for the cycle to constantly continue. Sin destroys and kills. Then the summoner comes and sacrifices a guardian to Yunalesca. Sin dies and is reborn in ten years. Perfect."

"That's horrible!"

Arnis shrugged. "The ways of the gods cannot always be understood by mortal men."

"You're mad!"

Arnis shrugged once again. "You shouldn't judge things that you can't comprehend…Shiava."

"I won't let that happen!"

Arnis continued to look up at the mosaics of the gods on the ceiling. He spread his arms wide. "I am the one whom the gods have chosen to continue this cycle" he said in a sepulchral voice.

"How're you going to do it?" Shiava asked. "I mean Yunalesca was Sent to the Farplane. She's in paradise right now."

"Oh, don't worry….I have a plan. I've been planning it for two years, from the day the terrible news that Sin was gone forever arrived in Bevelle."

Then in the calmest voice imaginable he told Shiava of his horrific plan to instate the cycle permanently on Spira. Shiava was appalled and repulsed by his friend's plan, and even more surprised by his apparent lack of sanity.

Then Shiava stepped forward. He drew his sword. "Stop wasting your breath, you bastard. I already said I wouldn't let that happen."

"There isn't really a need to use profane insults Shiava. I thought that you, as a friend would rally eagerly to my cause."

"Well you thought wrong, Arnis. I'll shut down your little scheme. I can't let you recreate the world's nightmare."

"Please spare me the self righteous twaddle Shiava. You couldn't give a damn about the world and its people. You want to use High Summoner Yuna and her guardians to free Arenna. What a selfish person you are."

"Cut your judgments jerk!"

"Hahahahahahah!"

Arnis' mad laughter echoed through the Temple Chamber.

Shiava struck like lightning in his rage. His attack was quickly parried by Arnis' own sword.

"You don't need to attack. But I suppose that those chosen by the gods must suffer some persecution."

"Shut the hell up!"

They blocked and swung. Arnis was actually a better Firstblade than Shiava. It was all Shiava could do to block the rain of steel.

Shiava suddenly noticed a block in Arnis' guard, something that had been drummed into their heads by the teachers from the beginng.

"You're going down like a circus clown!" Shiava screamed.

He swung his sword. The wickedly sharp blade drew a long red line down Arnis' side. He cursed in pain. Arnis then stabbed. Shiava screamed as the sword pierced his shoulder to the bone. Soon the floor under them was red with blood. The two former friends hacked away at each other. Each silently acknowledged that failure or holding back meant death. The only sound in the Temple Chamber was the sound of metal on metal, or a grunt of pain or curse as a slash or blow hit home. For how long the fight lasted, Shiava was never sure. All he knew was that his life was on the line. He suddenly saw another opening in Arnis' guard. This time it was at his torso.

"I will never give up! The cycle must go on!"

"Guess that makes two of us. And one of us is dead."

"Wha--?" 1

Shiava's sword stabbed into Arnis' gut, tearing through his internal organs. His gasp of surprise and pain echoed throughout the chamber. Blood gushed from his mouth. It spattered the floor. He swayed, looking dazed. Then Arnis sank to his hands and knees. Shiava felt sick. He saw the front of his sword protruding from Arnis' back.

"How…di…did…you….I…can…t…believe…"

He suddenly coughed more blood onto the floor. Shiava stood over him, his violet eyes cold. "I'm sorry…Arnis. You got in the way of my own plan. I can't let that happen."

Arnis gripped a statue of Puppet. He used it to pull himself up. "Y…you're…go…good Shiava. I can't b…bel…believe you…got me." More blood gushed from his mouth. He went to pick up his sword. His fingers closed around its red handle. But there was a greater power, a power he couldn't conquer. Arnis felt his concentration on sword moves vanish in a terrible pain. He looked and saw the massive red stain spreading across his navy blue shirt, and the red liquid running down the many buckles and fastenings of his outfit. He suddenly heard a small voice beside him. It was calling his name. He turned to see a small hand puppet of a dog with little button eyes. It stared at him. Arnis realized who he faced. Puppet, god of death took his hand, and Arnis faded into light.

Shiava watched as Arnis' eyes glazed over. His former friend's lifeless body tumbled to the floor. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with a tremendous sense of guilt. He had never killed a human being before, only fiends. Now he had, and it was his best friend. Memories of the times he, Arnis, and Arenna had shared washed over him. He felt tears sting his eyes once more. This time he didn't even try to stop them. He sat and cried over his friend's dead body. Finally, Shiava had no tears left to cry. Wiping his eyes, he stood over the body. The full magnitude of what he had done reached him. He had to hide the body!

Shiava reached under Arnis' arms and pulled the dead body under one of the alters. He hid it in a shadowy alcove. "I hope you're at peace in the Farplane" Shiava whispered as he closed Arnis' open eyes.

* * *

After this Shiava staggered out into the hallways. His shoulder ached terribly. When Shiava looked he saw, to his horror that Arnis' sword had pierced it to the bone. He was also beginning to get a little dizzy and realized it was probably blood loss. It was because of this that Shiava bumped into a young woman about a year older, dressed in a green tunic. "Oof!" they both said as they fell to the floor.

"Excuse me" Shiava said as he stood up shakily.

"Oh it's alright" she said. As she stood up Shiava recognized her. It was Shilinda, commander of the warrior monks. The warrior monks were Yevon's rank-and-file troops. They wore silver helmets and body armor and they used AK-47s. Shiava always wondered why they got automatic weapons and Firstblades, who were supposed to be more important got swords.

"Sh…Shilinda what are you doing here?"

"I was just going into the Temple Chamber to pray."

Shilinda was a devout Yevonite. She prayed to the gods daily. She was apparently a "good example to us all" according to Measter Mika.

After hurriedly excusing himself from Shilinda's company, Shiava made his way to his room. There he sat on his bed and thought. What was he going to do? Now that Arnis was dead, he didn't have an ally in the world.

"Damn it!" Shiava cursed to no one in particular. Then he realized that he was all alone. He would have to sustain himself on his quest to find High Summoner Yuna. After that he fell into a dark dreamless sleep.


	6. A Lesson In Death

A lesson in Death

For the next three days, Shiava did almost nothing but mope around the Palace of St. Bevelle. He occasionally thought about Arenna, and thought even less about Arnis. He wondered what had happened. He wondered if anyone had discovered the body. He tried to push these thoughts from his mind, but it seemed that his conscience took perverted pleasure in tormenting him. He spent his time teaching the younger Firstblades sword techniques and, sometimes, just wandering the city. Anything to distract him from the cold, dark emptiness inside his soul. On the fourth day Shiava happened to be wandering the Palace hallways when he was stopped by Shilinda. The warrior monk commander looked very out of breath and a bit peeved.

"There you are Shiava! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Why are you looking for me?" Shiava said in a hollow voice. He had perfected this technique over the past three days. It usually made people stop bothering him.

But Shilinda was not easily dissuaded. "I wanted to ask about your friends." She was so wrapped up in what she had wanted to ask for three days, that she didn't notice the look of bitter pain that crossed the young sword mage's face. She continued blindly on. "You know Arnis, the _really, really _handsome guy who's always with you." It was then Shilinda made her mistake. "And that…" her mouth curled in distaste, "that illegitimate child you go around with."

Shiava's violet eyes darkened. "I don't see a reason to discuss my friends with _you_. Why should I?" he spat in anger. He always got angry when someone insulted Arenna, but now when his nerves were shot he let it all out. "I don't feel like talking about it alright! So lay off!"

Shilinda sniffed. "I have orders from Measter Estarce Ronso right now, to ask were they are." There were three Measters. Grand Measter Mika, Measter Andrick, and Measter Estarce. He was the only non human measter. He spoke for the Ronso of Mt. Gazett.

"Estarce asked where Arenna and Arnis were?"

_Measter_ Estarce asked where they were."

"Whatever." Shiava waved his hand impatiently. "Tell him that they're on a mission from Andrick."

_Measter _Andri_-_-alright, alright!" Shilinda sulked. "I'll tell him. Sheesh."

As she sulked off Shiava wondered if he'd made the right decision by lying. Firstblades were at the beck and call of the Measters. If Estarce wanted to use Arenna and Arnis for some kind of mission, he would ask Andrick what he needed them for. Then the truth would be out.

Sighing mightily, Shiava once again began to walk down the hallway. Suddenly he noticed a movement at one of the doors. He turned and felt his heart plummet to his black sneakers. It was Sir Auron. Before the legendary guardian could see him, Shiava ducked into an open doorway. This was terrible. If his lie to Shilinda not been damaging, Sir Auron's arrival was the sealing of his doom. Auron would tell the measters what had gone on that night. Shiava would face death, and Arenna would never be saved.

_"Well"_ Shiava thought _"I'm not going to go let them kill me and ruin my plan." _Shiava ran up the stairs to the Firstblade quarters and began to hurriedly pack his bags. In despair he turned to the stone wall beside his bed.

Because of his ability to hear the voices in the inanimate objects of the world, Shiava was never really lonely, unless he blocked the voices out, something he had learned at age six. He always shut out the voices because they interfered with his ability to think. This time he opened himself to them. _About time for you to hear us, _said the stones in the wall, their ancient voices in unison.

"What should I do?" Shiava cried to them in despair.

_That is for you to decide. However be warned. Something foul is stirring among these walls, as we have heard from our cousins in the other levels. _

"Th...thanks" Shiava breathed silently.

It was shortly after this that Shiava fell into an exhausted sleep. He rarely dreamed these days because he knew that if he did, he would see the scenes of Arenna's fate, or worse…Arnis' death at his hands. Thus when he began to dream, he would wake himself up. But after three nights in a row like this, he was tired.

* * *

_In the dream, Shiava was riding something huge. It was monstrous, towering over the land below. With a start he realized it was Sin. Suddenly the monster plunged, taking Shiava into the ocean. Shiava gasped for breath. It was as if a hand were around his throat. All he could think of was Arenna…_

Shiava woke with a start. There _was_ a hand around his throat! Still half asleep, Shiava clutched at it as it pulled him up. Then his hands fell back in horror. The wrist was cool and worst of all…it had no pulse. Then light in his room flicked on. Arnis was holding Shiava by the throat. That was not the worst. The room was filled with warrior monks, the light glinting off their silver helmets and body armor.

"Well, well Shiava. Surprised to see me?" Arnis laughed at this question. He was dressed in his usual, navy blue ankle long shorts and shirt, and his short yellow boots and his armguard. Even all the buckles and fastenings he wore were the same.

Shiava was filled with horror and shock. Arnis had become an unsent. He was one of the dead determined to stay in the world of the living. "H..how…" was all Shiava could say.

"How? I can't believe that you'd ask such a question, Shiava. You attended the same lessons that I did."

Then it clicked. Shiava wasn't sure what gruff old teacher had told him this, but when a person died and wasn't Sent in three days, they had the option of coming back to remain in the mortal world. The reason that the world wasn't crawling with the unsent was because "most people have the sense to know when it was time to take Puppet's hand and move on."

"You can imagine the surprise that Shilinda had when she discovered my body in a corner of the Temple Chamber. Well that wasn't anything compared to my surprise when they allowed me to become Firstblade General, reporting only to the Grand Measter. So Shiava…on your feet. We have a trial to hold in the High Court."

With their weapons to his back Shiava dressed quickly. Arnis watched him with a critical eye.

"Honestly Shiava…Arenna was right. Do you always wear that same ridiculous black everyday?"

"Don't mention Arenna you slime" was Shiava's response. A response that got him a painful jab in the back from an AK-47 handle.

"Show some respect when you talk to the new head of your Order, Firstblade!" said a warrior monk.

Shiava was marched through the hallways. It was like some kind of dream, everything seemingly unreal. Shiava thought about the High Court. He had only heard of extremely serious trials taking place there. The measters themselves judged whether the defendant was guilty or innocent. All guilty cases ended in death. Shiava smiled grimly. He wondered if this was the way he was meant to die. If so, the gods had a rotten sense of justice. They walked across the Highbridge one of the many bridges that connected the four towers of the Palace. Shiava realized that the fourth one contained the High Court. The Highbridge was undergoing construction and there was a lot of dust on the red marble. Shiava noticed, with a detached curiosity that Arnis' yellow boots made no impressions on the dust.

"Ahh, here we are." Arnis pointed to a door in the wall in front of them. He walked forward, and the automatic door opened. Shiava, flanked on all sides by warrior monks, filed in.

* * *

"Firstblade Shiava Horst. The sacred offices of this court wish to separate the truth from fiction in your case. Remember Firstblade. Believe in the gods…and the truth."

These words, repeated by Measter Estarce did not uplift the young Firstblade's spirits. While they were meant to cheer the defendant, Shiava was a sword mage and he could sense memories of pain, fear, and horror in the ancient stone and wood of the Court. The Court was a cavernous room. Its high, huge ceiling was enchanted to look like a night sky with the stars moving across it. There were five platforms above a giant green mist. The floor cut off a few twelve feet from the door. The first platform faced the other four. This was where the defendant stood. The central platform was where the Grand Measter stood. The ones on the left and right were for the other two measters. The last was for the Firstblade General.

Shiava stood on the defendant's platform, looking at Measter Estarce. The Ronso's blue fur was streaked with gray. While he had once been seven feet tall, he was now bent to five feet. His measter's robe was a deep red unlike Measter Andrick's bright orange one, signifying higher rank. He stood on the right side of Grand Measter Mika. Measter Andrick stood on the left, his kind face looking sad. And in the Firstblade General's platform…stood Arnis.

"Firstblade Shiava. Your Order is committed to helping the people of Spira, yes?"

Shiava jerked up from his dark thoughts. "Yes, yes we are."

The old Ronso paused for a minute. He was surprised by this vehement response. He had expected a sulky, halfhearted response. Then he regained his composure. "Then consider" he said in a stern voice. "You have invaded the forbidden site of Sin's body; you have inflicted terrible injury upon Firstblade General Arnis, and disobeyed the orders of a superior like Sir Auron. The first two are unforgivable and terrible crimes against not only the person injured, but against Yevon itself."

Measter Mika stepped forward. It was the first time Shiava had ever really seen the man Arenna had referred to as "the old geezer". For the hundredth time, Shiava wondered how old Mika really was. The measter was shorter than him, and his tan Grand Measter's robe hung on his thin frame. He stroked his long white beard. "Well, boy? What do you have to say for yourself?" Unlike Measter Estarce, who's voice was still strong and stern despite his age, Mika's voice was cracked and ancient sounding.

"Yes Shiava, what do you have to say for yourself? We're all waiting" Arnis teased. His voice sounded high and eerie in the vast Court.

Somehow the knowledge that there was no breath generating that voice sent shivers down Shiava's spine. He swallowed his fear, though and looked defiantly at Arnis. "I think that I was right in everything…except for Sin. You can't understand how badly it torments me everyday. But there is something you have to know." Shiava took a deep breath. "Arnis is insane! He wants to restore Sin permanently on Spira!" Shiava looked to see if his speech had made any impression. Measter Mika was still stoking his beard. Measter Estarce's catlike face was unreadable, and Measter Andrick's face was sadder than ever.

Finally Measter Andrick stood. He regarded Shiava sadly, yet at the same time sternly. "Shiava Horst. I have seen you grow as a student at this Palace. You were a virtuous warrior of Yevon. I see now that you have degenerated into a terrible liar. Arnis is the best person for the job of Firstblade General. That is why I stepped down from that position and gave it to him."

Shiava clenched his fists in frustration. He knew they wouldn't believe him. He should have known better than to try and convince these fools! But it had been worth a try. Then he remembered his Trump Card. If they didn't believe in Arnis' insanity, they would believe his other statement! He turned to Measter Mika. "Your Grace…there is something else you should know about Arnis." Something suddenly caught the boy's eye. It was Measter Andrick. He was frantically drawing his hand across his throat and shaking his head. Whatever he meant, Shiava didn't get it. He decided to go ahead. "Your Grace, Arnis…is already dead!"

The reaction Shiava had hoped for was immediate chaos, all of the measters denouncing Arnis for the unrestful spirit he was, and then calling for a summoner to Send him. It was quite the opposite. Everyone sat calmly where they were. Shiava turned to Arnis. In his imagined scenario Arnis' face would be twisted in fear and anger. Instead there was an arrogant smirk. Shiava was at a loss. Would _anything _faze these people?

"Your Grace…Arnis is already dead! An unsent! His existence is an abomination to Yevon and to life itself! It's written in the teachings '_for the Dead shall not walk in Life for that is not their path'_. Don't you get it?!" He looked around and saw Measter Andrick put his face in his hands. Shiava then tried pleading. It wasn't an act. He was getting really desperate. "Measter Mika, please get someone to Send Arnis now!"

Measter Mika had been silent throughout this whole tirade. Now he gave a small chuckle. "Send Arnis?" he smiled. "I don't think we need to take such drastic measures. Besides Shiava, you're the one on trial. Remember that."

Shiava's head began to spin. He was confused. Unsent were abominations according to the Teachings of the Gods. Teachings he had been raised on as a child. And here was Measter Mika brushing it off as though this were a case of a fight breaking out. "I…I don't think I understand Your Grace."

Grand Measter Mika smiled. "You think we should Send the dead to the Farplane?" he queried.

Now Shiava was _really_ confused. Mika was head of Yevon. Leader of the government and the church. He should know this. Something wasn't right here….

"Send the dead?" Mika asked again. He began to laugh softly. Suddenly a rush of pyreflies flew from his abruptly transparent body. "You would have to Send me too."

"_What the hell?!" _Shiava screeched. He was more than horrified. This had to some kind of nightmare. A product of sleep deprivation.

Measter Estarce stepped forward on his platform. The elderly Ronso regarded Measter Mika with respect. "Grand Measter Mika is a wise leader. Even in death he is invaluable to Spira."

Measter Andrick chuckled. "Enlightened rule by the dead is far better than the misguided failures of the living."

"Life is but a passing dream…but the death that follows is eternal" said Arnis from his platform.

Shiava was outraged. _This _was what was leading the government and the church? They betrayed their own teachings! He no longer felt any need to be respectful of these traitors. "You bastards" Shiava gritted through clenched teeth. "You took me to this place because I killed Arnis? If I follow your reasoning it's a rise of status! You called Arenna an illegitimate child and made her feel like dirt Mika, but what's worse, being born out of wedlock, or being an unholy _thing_ from beyond the grave?" He shook his fist at the Grand Measter. "Go to the Farplane where you belong! Leave Spira to the living!"

There were gasps of surprise. "Shiava what is wrong with you?" asked Measter Andrick. "Apologize and offer respect to the Grand Measter."

"No! I won't. He doesn't deserve the title. _This _is why he was old, even when my parents were young children!"

"Then if you will not offer your apologies or your respect, the High Court of Yevon holds you, Shiava Horst in contempt. You are sentenced to death in the Via Purifico."

Shiava gasped. Andrick's words pierced the thick, red veil of anger clouding his mind. The Via Purifico was an enormous, fiend filled maze that ran under the Palace of St. Bevelle. A person sentenced to death was blindfolded, taken a ways into the maze, and left there. If one was not killed by the bloodthirsty monsters, then death by starvation or thirst was the only other option. No one thrown into the Via Purifico ever came out. "I…I refuse to retract my statements." Then Shiava spat on the platform closest to him, which happened to be Mika's. The Grand Measter made a sweeping gesture with his hand and two warrior monks were instantly at Shiava's sides. Before he could react, the two pinned his arms painfully behind him. They marched him smartly down the Highbridge. Shiava's lesson in death had begun.


	7. Your Story

"Your Story"

As he was marched down the Highbridge, Shiava pondered his options. Escape was unlikely unless it came from a divine source. He was hurried rudely along by the warrior monks. "Get going, scum!" one of them snarled. Soon Shiava was in a room near the Temple Chamber. One of the monks knocked on the wall. It swung back to reveal an old rusted iron door. Shiava almost gagged at the rush of fear and pain that came rushing out of the old metal. Once again he was ordered harshly to stop being a fool and pushed forcibly along. When they entered, Shiava saw that they were in a dark, dank room. Slime dripped down the wet walls, and it was filled with a horrible odor. One of the warrior monks fished in his pocket and pulled out a stained handkerchief. "Put this on jerk!" snarled the second. Soon Shiava was blindfolded.

"Are you going to lead me along?" Shiava asked sarcastically, and was rewarded with a slap from an armored fist. Soon Shiava heard a door being opened and he was led into a cool space. He felt the monks leading him. Shiava put one finger in his mouth.

"What in Erth's name are you doing?" asked one.

"Just putting my hand in my mouth." Shiava bit hard on his fingertip. Then he touched the wall behind him, leaving a small trail of blood.

After what seemed about twenty minutes, Shiava heard one of the guards whisper "I think that's far enough."

Then blindfold was roughly removed. One of the warrior monks handed the Firstblade a sword. It was his old red handled one. One of them laughed. Then the other did too.

"What's so funny?" Shiava asked warily.

"Nothing it's just…we're supposed to give you a sword, to fight fiends with…even though you're going to die of starvation and thirst and…it's your old Firstblade sword!"

"Yes…that is very funny…" Shiava said in a small whisper. "Well so is this!"

With one strike, Shiava stabbed the man in the throat, right beneath his helmet. The guard gave a startled gurgle and fell clutching his throat. Soon he lay still in a pool in his own blood.

"You bastard!" the other monk reached for his AK-47. But Shiava cut off his hand. He howled a little before Shiava did the same thing to him, stabbing right beneath the helmet.

_"Now I have killed three" _Shiava thought, a bit disturbed at the murder he had just committed.

* * *

In the rest of Bevelle, outside Seawall Bridge, there was a stirring in the ocean. A massive form moved beneath the water. Standing on top of a partially finished building, Sir Auron watched the thing, knowing it was Sin. He reached for the hip flask at his side. He was not normally a drinking sort of man, but tonight was special. He raised the flask in a toast to the monster, and then he drank deeply.

* * *

Shiava walked through the Via Purifico, following the trail of blood he left on the wall. His bloodstained sword was in his scabbard slung across his back, and his hands were in his pockets. Yevon had betrayed him. The people he had known and respected as wise church and government leaders were either already dead, or didn't care that the dead lived among them. They welcomed it for the sake of the gods! Shiava was so wrapped up in these dark thoughts that he lost track of were he was going several times. Finally he found he entrance. As he crossed the threshold he breathed a sigh of relief. At least he still had breath to do it. Soon Shiava ran through the halls of the Palace.

* * *

The monstrous creature rose up out of the ocean. Sin called a giant ball of water around its massive body. The horrible sphere moved toward the city. The city was in full swing. Crowds filled nightclubs, neon signs were bright, and people filled the sidewalks, along with cars in the streets. Then someone screamed and pointed up at the sky. As other people began to spot the huge sphere of water hovering in the sky a few feet above the city, the panic spread. Horrible shrieks and cries filled the night sky. Crowds of people began to stampede through the streets. Auron walked calmly among them, not disturbed in the least. He knew that Sin had not come to wreak destruction upon the city. Not yet.

Shiava stopped to catch his breath a moment. He checked his watch. It was ten 'o clock at night. The crowds would be full, and late night partiers would be there by the thousands. He could easily slip into the crowd, and leave Bevelle, and then…well he didn't know what then. As he left the Palace gates he was suddenly grabbed! A group of about ten warrior monks surrounded him. "Well, Shiava I didn't expect this kind of escape so quickly."

Arnis walked up out of the shadows. He was wearing the same arrogant smirk that he'd been wearing at the trial. It looked like it belonged there. Shiava gave Arnis a glare that would have turned Medusa herself to stone.

"I should have known that _you_ would ruin my escape."

"Yes…I'm sure the measters will be very interested in what you did to those guards."

"Yeah whatever…I can't get anymore dead can I?"

Arnis gritted his teeth. "I see you haven't gotten anymore respectful after your stay in the Via Purifico."

"Yeah, how about that?"

Arnis drew his sword. "Maybe you will show more respect to your betters in the next world!"

* * *

Sin floated above Bevelle. Small openings appeared in the front of the watery sphere. Bolts of purple light shot from the openings, slamming into several skyscrapers. Screams grew even louder. The tops of these buildings began to cave in. Auron paused in puzzlement. Perhaps he had misunderstood, then it was already too late…but then he smiled. It wasn't. This was extra, a sort of overkill. Then another bolt of light, larger than the others, slammed into the fourth tower of the Palace of St. Bevelle. The tower crumbled falling in on itself, the large chunks falling to crush the courtyard and front gates.

* * *

Shiava braced himself for death. But it didn't come. Instead there was a sound of something large whistling through the air. Then, there was a sound of stone crumbling and cracking. Arnis swore, and dodged as large chunk of stone fell into the courtyard. Shiava looked in horror, as the fourth tower of the Palace crumbled and cracked. It's pieces fell into the courtyard, crushing and burying the warrior monks around him. Arnis was nowhere to be seen. Ignoring the screams of the dying and wounded around him, Shiava fled through the crushed gates, to the chaos and terror of the streets.

"What the hell is going on here?" Shiava whispered as he saw the panic and fear around him. Then he looked up and saw the massive sphere of water in the sky. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hurry boy! And stay with me!"

Sir Auron was right next to him. Auron made an impatient gesture and soon the two of them were fighting their way through the crowd. After an eternity of pushing and shoving, the two were at the entrance of Seawall Bridge. Sin floated a few feet above the bridge. Shiava stopped suddenly, his legs turning to jelly.

"Go" said Auron quietly. At his quiet command, Shiava ran across the bridge. Immediately, Sinscales attacked.

"Oh you guys again," Shiava muttered, drawing his sword.

"Ignore the ones that aren't a direct threat" Auron ordered.

Soon the two were hacking away at the Sinscales. It was like the last time, except in a different location. The small monsters weren't really a threat, but they kept coming and coming. Then Auron spoke.

"That truck!" he said pointing to an overturned gas truck on the road. "Attack it!"

"Are you _nuts?"_

"Just trust me!"

Shiava struck the truck. The sparks from his sword on the metal, sent the gas into a fireball. The inferno spread across the Sinscale's half of the bridge, consuming them all. Their dying shrieks were horrible to hear.

"Good" said Auron.

Then the bridge began to crack under the force of the explosion. Soon the dainty red and white stone of the Seawall Bridge was fissured in a thousand places.

"We've got to get out of here!" Shiava shrieked.

Auron didn't move. His eyes were on the sky. "We're expected" he said quietly. Then the half of the bridge formerly occupied by the Sinscales collapsed, taking their half with it. "Jump!" Auron yelled. He jumped to the other side of the wall.

Shiava ran as fast as he could, throwing caution to the winds. He leaped over small fires here and there. Finally he threw himself off the bridge, and at the wall. He just missed. Shiava's hands grasped at the rough stones of the wall. Auron stood over him. Suddenly a strange, bright golden light filled the air. Sin was above them both in the sky. The bottom of it had opened. It was the first time Shiava had actually seen Sin up close. He noticed details about the monster. It was huge, obviously, and its scales were a brownish gray color, except for two streams of reddish fur that ran from both fins. It's head was like a humpback whale's and the front of this head was covered with hundreds of lidless purple colored eyes, all staring and moving in different directions. The bottom of the creature had opened up and a golden light was coming from it.

Shiava's hands began to slip. "Auron! Sir Auron! Help me!"

Auron didn't look at Shiava. Instead he looked at Sin. "You are sure?" he asked. Then he nodded. Reaching out with one gloved hand, he pulled Shiava up. Pieces of the wrecked bridge were beginning to get sucked into the giant opening. Suddenly Shiava felt _himself_ pulled into the maelstrom. Sir Auron let his hand go. Shiava was falling up, up into Sin's opening. All he could see was golden light. It blinded him… Suddenly he heard Auron's voice. "This is it. You must finish what was started. This is your story."

Then Shiava felt his body begin to stretch longer and longer and then all disappeared into the light….

From the wreckage of the fourth tower in the Palace of St. Bevelle, Arnis watched Sin. He wondered what the monster was doing. It didn't really matter. As long as it destroyed and killed, as the gods had planned. He smiled as a hymn of praise to Spira's suffering ran through his head

_**Arnis' Praise to Sin **_

_**"You may be a hideous monster on the outside, but to me you are the blessing of the gods. You have given us fear of death, and worship Divine! Give sweet rest to those you choose, And life Painful to those not! My dear friend Arenna, You are chosen to give your soul to a blessing! It may be agony, but to Spira it is Joy! Sin…is the glory…of the gods**__**!" **_


	8. Close Call!

Close Call!

Shiava floated in a strange place. Far, far below him, he could see the city of Bevelle, except it was blurry and unfocused, all of the light running together. The air around him was thick and heavy. It was like trying to swim underwater, except for the fact that he could breathe normally.

"Hey!"

A voice suddenly called to him! Looking around to find the source of the voice Shiava saw more of his surroundings. He was in Dream's End, the stadium place inside Sin. The place where Arenna had been sucked into the core…

"I said hey!" the voice called again. It sounded impatient.

Shiava began to swim toward the source of the voice. He saw a strange ledge before him. He began swimming toward the ledge. There was a figure standing there, but it was extremely blurred. Soon he reached the ledge. He jumped. Standing on the ledge was himself. He looked impatient yet strange. Not quite the same. Suddenly Shiava began to feel sleepy, and confused. The other Shiava reached out and pressed something into his hand. Before Shiava could do or say anything, blackness and sleep overtook him.

* * *

Shiava abruptly woke up. His first thought was that he was in his bed in Bevelle. But the bed was comfortable, and this…this, to say the least, wasn't. Whatever he was lying on was hard and damp, and there was a rock pushing into his side. From the sore stiffness there, it had been doing this for quite some time. As he grew more aware, he also realized that there was water dropping on him from above. He was almost soaked. His white hair was dripping with water. Shiava got up and looked around. The sky above him was dark and gray. Black clouds hovered on the horizon, promising more rain. Shiava looked at the ground. He was standing on a chunk of weathered stone in the middle of a gray sea. Other chunks of stone floated around him. As the looked around, he saw a gigantic ruined structure in the center of the desolation. The stones weren't to far away. Shiava guessed that he could swim it. If there weren't any water fiends. The rain really began pouring down now. He had to get to shelter. The big ruin looked almost as big as the Palace of St. Bevelle. He could hide there. It seemed to be the only place of shelter here. Wherever _here _was. Suddenly Shiava remembered the object that had been put into his hand before he blacked out. As he looked at it, he gasped. It was Arenna's promise ring. He slipped it onto his other hand, the one with his own promise ring on it. Then Shiava made sure that his sword was securely buckled to his back. Drawing it he held his breath and leaped into the water. It wasn't the best idea that he'd ever had. The water was the coldest Shiava had ever been in. While Shiava had been taught to hold his breath for a long time in cold water for underwater sword combat practice, he still had trouble holding it in. He wanted to gasp out. The water also wasn't very clear. It was green with algae, and cluttered with ruined statues and other debris. It was hard to see and to swim. Finally the boy broke the surface, gasping. "Gods, that's cold!" he muttered, before submerging once more.

* * *

After an hour of swimming and gasping for air, Shiava was exhausted. Finally he pulled himself up on a large mass of stone that seemed to be the remnants of a path. There he sat, gathering his strength. He was wet, tired and worst of all, cold. Shivering violently, he continued up the path. _"Maybe this path will lead to that old palace…or whatever it was" _he thought. So when he discovered that the path led to an enormous drop into more murky water, he gave a loud groan. "Well, I guess it's more diving for me" Shiava said bitterly. With a sigh, he dove off the overhang into the water. This time the water was a bit clearer that the rest. Shiava could see that there was a vast, cracked mosaic covering the sea floor. Whatever it had been, it was impossible to tell because of algae and age. Gigantic cracked and broken statues of warriors lay littered among the chaos. Shiava wondered once again what kind of place this was. It looked like it had once been a magnificent palace, and he realized that the gigantic structure he was seeking had only been a tiny portion of this place, before a disaster had sent most of it to the bottom of this strange sea. As he swam among the underwater ruins, Shiava began to feel a bit uncomfortable. It was as if there were eyes watching him. It wasn't just his sword magery either. He could actually feel eyes watching his every move. Shiava clutched his sword tighter. It was hard swimming with a sword in one hand, but now he was grateful he had been taught this skill. 

Suddenly there was a movement right in front of him. A large fish like creature swam up to him. It was a mottled yellow, and it had several arm like fins, as well as webbed legs and feet. Its mouth was full of pointed green teeth. It took all of Shiava's Firstblade discipline not to gasp out his surprise underwater. It was a Shagin, an underwater, fishlike fiend.

The Shagin lunged at Shiava its fanged mouth open. Before Shiava could swipe at it with his sword, the monster's mouth closed on his ankle, biting deeply. "AAAGGHH!" Shiava screamed in pain. He swiped his sword down on the monster's head. The headless body disintegrated into a stream of pyreflies. If he could have, Shiava would have breathed a sigh of relief. Then he groaned inwardly. A stream of Shagin were beginning to come out of a pile of collapsed stone, drawn by the scent of blood in the water. Shiava prepared himself for a long battle. There were about twelve of them, and one of him. _"This could be really ugly" _Shiava thought grimly.

Then, suddenly the Shagin were gone. There were only two stragglers. He was saved! Then suddenly both of the Shagin disappeared into the mouth of a huge, dark shadow. Then the predator that had eaten them appeared. Shiava felt his blood turn to ice. It was a female Geosageano, a predator that roamed the water, and ate fiends. The animal was thirty times bigger than Shiava and it had two huge fins meant for crushing. It was armored all over its body. It could suck in water, along with potential prey.

_"Oh holy shit"_ thought Shiava. The Geosageano opened its mouth and sucked. Shiava felt the water around him begin to pull and vanish into the animal's mouth.

"Nooo!" Shiava yelled, and felt his lungs fill with water. He was pulled along with the current into the predator's mouth! Then, Shiava felt the same defiance; he had felt in the High Court. He was not going to die here, not this way! Swimming as he had never swum before, Shiava fought the powerful current. Using his sword, he slashed the creature's ribs. It didn't do any damage, but it stopped it from sucking in any more water. Free of the current, Shiava swam for the nearest escape. Suddenly, he saw a door in an algae covered wall! He slammed up against it, and the rotten wood disintegrated under his weight. Propelled by his charge, and the current, he went flying down a long dark stone tunnel. Shiava felt himself smash and bash along the stone walls. Then his head hit, and darkness consumed him.

**Think this is following FFX right to the letter? Well, you're partly right. The begginning has a lot of similarities to Tidus' experiances...but it will become more original! I promise you! **


	9. New Friends

New Friends

"Aaagh…my head…" These were the first words out of Shiava's mouth when he woke up. "Where the hell am I?" he asked. He tried to stand, but the movement made him dizzy and nauseous. Sitting back down, he examined his surroundings. He was no longer underwater, and he seemed to be in some kind of grand hall. There was very little light, but just enough to see. The room was _huge_ and there was a whole other part that wrapped around the upper level, with the broken remnants of a grand staircase that led to his level. Slime dripped down the ancient, stained walls. A cascade of water dripped in the middle of the room. It was as big as a waterfall. Wincing, Shiava looked up at the distant ceiling. It was riddled with large holes in the stone. That was what let in the light. The entire place was extremely cold. Suddenly Shiava became aware of just _how very_ cold he was. He was shivering as he had never shivered before. The combined cold of the place and his saturated clothes were ganging up on his body. "I have to get a fire or something before I freeze to death" Shiava muttered. He forced himself to stand up, despite the dizziness and nausea he knew it would cause. Gritting his teeth, Shiava staggered around the giant room until he found a door. He then realized what must have happed. The force of the water must have pushed his body into the hall. He was in the palace like structure he had been looking for. What irony. He found the shelter and now he was going to freeze to death.

* * *

"Got to find some firewood" Shiava muttered again. He began to climb what was left of the grand staircase. As he ascended to the top level, he slipped on some of the slime, falling hard and knocking the breath from his body. "Damn" he wheezed, "why do the gods seem to hate me?!" his curse echoed in the vast, empty place. There was no answer. Finally, Shiava got to the top. He tried to marshal his tired brain into some kind of order. It wasn't easy. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate. Thoughts kept slipping into the huge void in his mind almost as soon as they appeared. He was shaking harder than ever now. It looked like the symptoms of hypothermia were setting in. Shiava staggered into a room on the upper level. It had once been beautiful, he could see, but now it had fallen into ruin, just like the rest of the place. Its stone floor was barely covered with the remnants of a decaying carpet. A beautiful four poster bed had once sat in the corner. Now it was just a heap of rotten wood, the sheets and cloth material having long rotted away. Shiava found what he was looking for, however. He broke off a few chunks of wood from the bed. Looking around, he discovered that there were a few moldy rags of what had once been elegant drapery, hanging from a broken window. Tearing them off, Shiava found his tinder. "_Now to find some flint" _he thought. Shiava wandered around the upper level for a little while longer. He wasn't sure how much time passed. His watch had stopped from the water. It seemed to be half an hour. Finally he found a bit of flint in an old box. After gathering these items, Shiava settled himself back into his place in the grand hall. Soon he had a roaring fire started.

* * *

"Ahhh, that's better" Shiava sighed. Then his stomach gave a loud rumble. How long was it since he had eaten? He thought back, and then groaned. The last time was at dinner that last, horrible night in Bevelle. How long had it been since then? Shiava tried to think back. What had happened? Fire had engulfed the bridge, he had jumped…Sir Auron had saved him. Then Sin had…sucked him up. He looked at his surroundings again. Why had Sin deposited him in this ancient and desolate place? It had most likely been abandoned for more than a hundred years. Where was it? And most importantly…what had happened to Arenna? If Shiava's knowledge of how Sin worked was correct, then Arenna had now become the monster, doomed to wreak chaos, blood and death upon the world until a summoner sacrificed their life, and the life of a guardian to create a Final Aeon. But this would lead to another Sin… 

Shiava shook his head, and then gasped in pain. As he waited for the colored lights to stop whirling around in his vision, he pondered his present situation. What was he going to do? How would he leave this place? It would do for now, but he still had a quest to fulfill. He would free Arenna! Then, when it was all over they could talk together, laugh together, lie in each other's arms just doing nothing like the old days….

These thoughts of a rosy future warmed Shiava's soul better than any fire could. With this on his mind he fell into a restful sleep, despite the hard, damp stone under him.

* * *

As the young sword mage slept, he didn't notice the fire beginning to go out. It dwindled and dwindled, until soon it was nothing more than a few embers. Then it died completely. As it died, darkness crept over the hall. Still Shiava didn't wake. Then, in the darkest recess of the upper level, something moved. Slowly it unfolded its four long legs. The ends of these legs were tipped with foot long blades. Its two red eyes glowed in the darkness. The large praying mantis like fiend had lived here for years preying on small rats and any other animal foolish enough to enter its lair, coming out to strike when the darkness came. But now it sensed something different. A food item bigger than any it had encountered before. It certainly could not recall anything like it in its previous human life. But it also had a sense of caution left over from its previous life. The prey was still alive. The fire had gone out, and he was in a deep sleep. It weighed the odds. Hunger won. This is what makes fiends so dangerous. The civilized beings intelligence, with animal instincts. The fiend was a Klikk, a species noted for their intelligence and vicious strength. They attacked prey without mercy with the razor sharp blades at the ends of their legs.

* * *

Shiava continued to sleep. The Klikk crept along the wall high above, silently. Its mandibles dripped in anticipation of the fresh meat lying below. Then, Shiava tossed in his sleep and turned over. Then his hand touched the hot ashes of the fire.

* * *

"Yeeow!" Shiava yelped, clutching his hand. "Man that hurt." Suddenly he noticed the fire. "Oh gods, it's out!" he began rapidly putting more wood and tinder onto the dying blaze. Soon the fire roared back to life. In the sudden light of the fire, Shiava happened look up. Then he screamed.

* * *

The Klikk was faced with a dilemma. The prey had seen it. Now the prey was awake and aware. Once again it weighed the odds. The chances were, it could take this weak, tired human. It lunged.

* * *

Shiava saw the horrible monster above him launch itself off the wall. It landed directly in front of him, three feet away. The boy drew his sword. Adrenaline shook off the remnants of sleep like an old blanket. The creature rushed at him, both of its front legs were held out like spears, ready to impale him. Shiava ducked below this and cut down. His blade drew a long slash down the side of the monster. It shrieked in pain, a sound like fingernails being drawn across a blackboard.

* * *

The Klikk was surprised and pained. It had not expected such resilience and agility out of the prey! It was wounded now too. The fiend realized that this prey might be a bit more than it could handle. But its predatory instincts urged it on.

* * *

Shiava saw the monster falter. He breathed a bit easier, but still remained on guard. A decision that proved a wise one, when the monster came rushing up. One of its leg blades slashed Shiava's arm. If his sword had not partially blocked the blow, Shiava would have lost his arm for sure. Gritting his teeth, Shiava switched his sword to his other hand. The monster was suddenly in front of him. It knocked the sword from Shiava's hands. With another slash it had cut a long red ribbon across his chest. "ARRRGHH!" Shiava screamed. He fell to his knees. The creature opened its mandibles.

* * *

The Klikk could hardly believe its luck. The prey had been brought down! Now it could feast upon sweet flesh and warm blood…Suddenly a movement at its feet startled the creature. A small, dark, and vaguely round object lay in front of it. It was also strangely familiar, something from its former life…suddenly the object exploded in a brilliant fireball, forever ending its questions.

* * *

Shiava watched as a grenade exploded, engulfing the monster in a fireball. It gave a hideous, wrenching cry. Finally the horrific conflagration faded. Shiava looked around. Suddenly the doors to the far left of the room burst open. A large group of strange looking people ran into the room. They were wearing an assortment of odd looking clothes. Some wore what looked like diving outfits modified for land, others wore strange looking yellow gas masks. There was one thing they all had in common though. They were all tan skinned and blond haired. 

"_Al Bhed" _Shiava thought before slipping into unconsciousness. This was really becoming a disturbing trend.


	10. Culture Shock

Culture Shock

Shiava woke to the sound of music being played. As he looked around, he realized he was in bed. A real bed! With soft pillows and sheets! As he turned around in bed, Shiava wondered where he was. The last thing he remembered was the Al Bhed. Were was he? Shiava started to get out of bed, but whatever was wrong with his head seemed to have returned with a vengeance. This time he vomited all over the clean white sheets from the pain, dizziness and nausea caused by sitting up.

"Eeww gross, now I have to clean this mess up" complained a voice from the door of his room.

Shiava turned to see a girl of about eighteen standing in the doorway. Tan skin and blond hair marked her as an Al Bhed. But what really caught Shiava's attention were her clothes. Or lack thereof. She was wearing a pair of _very _short shorts (at least compared to the rest of the human population, where shorts are down to one's ankles) and a bright orange shirt. On one hand she wore a black glove with the fingers poking through. Her fingernails were painted bright yellow. On her other hand, she wore a thick gray glove. Her hair was done up in half a bun and half a ponytail, with beaded braids hanging every which way. She had on a pair of red boots and had two blue ribbons hanging off the back of her shirt.

"Who…who are you?" Shiava managed to gasp out. Then he retched again.

"I'm Rikku! Who're you? How did you get to Baaj Temple? How long have you been there?"

Shiava wasn't prepared for the barrage of questions that followed one simple one. Then his mind registered something else. "You're _the_ Rikku? The one who is High Summoner Yuna's cousin? How can that be? You're…" He had started to say "an Al Bhed", but he realized that it wouldn't be polite.

"Because I'm an Al Bhed" she finished for him. Shiava's face flushed red, and he looked down onto the vomit stained sheets. "It's alright" she assured him. "Yunie's mom was an Al Bhed. She was my dad's sister. And you know who Yunie's dad was."

Shiava nodded. Yuna's father was High Summoner Braska. The man who had defeated Sin before her, at the cost of his own life. "So this means…High Summoner Yuna is…half Al Bhed?"

Rikku's eyes narrowed. "You have a problem with that?" she asked. Shiava now recognized another feature that marked her as an Al Bhed. All Al Bhed had green eyes. But instead of a pupil, they had black rings that spread across the green iris. It was quite strange. But, then again so was a person with slightly spiky white hair and bright violet eyes.

"No, no I don't have a problem with it…it's just…Yevon speaks loudly about how the Al Bhed are evil because they defied the Teachings during the Age of Despair when Sin was rampant in Spira. People still have trouble being nice to your race. To think that the High Summoner who beat Sin forever is part Al Bhed." He gave a weak laugh. "Kind of ironic isn't it?"

"Yeah." Then, without warning Rikku launched into her relentless interrogation again. "So how did you get here?"

"I don't even know where 'here' is."

"We're at the site of Baaj Temple. Three hundred years ago it was the Palace of our main city. Now it's sort of a shrine. We bring offerings to Verkadh."

Shiava nodded. "I see."

"Now our main city, the Home is in the Bikanel Dessert. I suppose it's fitting because our people came from there originally, before we built our main city at Baaj. We moved back three hundred years ago when it was attacked by Sin. I suppose it was Verkadh's will that we stay in the dessert."

"Uh…yeah…I see…" was Shiava's response.

"Now, how and why did you come here?"

Shiava racked his brain. He had to make up some kind of plausible lie. "I…my ship was wrecked a day and a half ago…and I found myself here…" It _sounded _good. At least to his ears.

"Rikku made an unfamiliar sign. It was like drawing two squiggled lines in mid air.

"What was that all about?"

"Giving thanks to Verkadh. You're lucky to be alive. Baaj is far, far away from any traveled route. Almost no one besides we Al Bhed know it exists. You must have really been in the hands of the gods."

_"Yeah, or the hands of a monster" _thought Shiava.

"I can't believe it! What were you guys doing?!"

"J…just pleasure cruising" Shiava stammered.

Once again Rikku's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "It's a bit far out for 'pleasure cruising' isn't it?"

Before Shiava could answer, Rikku suddenly pulled something from under the bed. It was his red handled Firstblade sword!

"This is a Firstblade sword…" Rikku said incredulously. "They're the elite Order of Yevon! You're a Firstblade!" Her gaze became angry. "You better tell me just what you're doing in our most sacred site." Her voice became tight with anger. "What were you doing, defiling it and messing it up in the name of Yevon?!"

"No!" Shiava said forcibly. "I would never do that, Al Bhed site or not!" It was the truth. The very idea of defiling a sacred site, just because it belonged to a race deemed "evil" by the church/government appalled him.

Rikku's face softened. "Then why were you here?" she asked.

"I told you, it was a pleasure cruise accident. The fact that I'm a Firstblade has nothing to do with it."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen" Shiava responded.

"What's your name?"

"Shiava. Shiava Horst."

Rikku walked over and sat on the bed, carefully avoiding the nasty area. "So did any of your friends survive?"

Shiava winced at this question. He didn't like bringing up the subject of his friends, especially in a lie.

Rikku seemed to notice. "Oh, I'm sorry" she said sadly.

"It's alright. I just…I just don't like talking about it."

Before Rikku could ask anything further a voice interrupted. "A gan kel cuuun ca dreck! Rikku Keso cuuun?!

"What!?" asked Shiava.

Rikku responded in the same strange language. Then she turned to Shiava. "Oh, that's my boyfriend Gippal. He's the captain of the ship we're on."

"We're on a ship?"

Rikku looked at Shiava, surprised. "Oh course we're on a ship! Were did you think we were?"

"I don't know. I can't seem to get a sense of where I am these days."

"We're in a ship on the sea near Baaj. We took you here and we've been here for three days."

_"Three days!?" _Shiava screeched. "How in hell's name could I have been out for three days?"

"You had, sorry _have _a bad concussion, and you were suffering from hypothermia. Plus Wiz, the ship's doctor thinks you at _least _have a small crack in your skull."

"Well, that explains a lot."

As Shiava tried to get his thoughts sorted out, he felt a strange pang in his mind. It was like when he opened himself up to the voices in inanimate objects, except that this felt _wrong. _Sharper somehow, more aware.

Before Shiava had time to investigate further, it vanished. Suddenly a movement in the doorway of the cabin startled him. A person stood in the door way.

"Gippy!" Rikku called happily.

The Al Bhed who stood in the doorway was certainly dressed a bit more sanely than the others Shiava had seen. He was dressed in a ruffled blue shirt, sort of like what pirates wore in old movies, with a strange black tassel on the collar. His black pants were almost covered by his knee high brown boots. He had an eye patch covering one eye.

"Rikku, are you bothering that poor guy?" Gippal asked. He had a nice voice, strangely accented, a bit liked like Rikku's. He turned to Shiava. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, I'm awake. Thanks for helping me back there."

Gippal laughed. "Don't thank me. Thank Rikku and the team who went with her to make an offering in the grand hall of the Baaj Temple."

"Oh."

"So are you alright?"

"Yeah I am. I'm just…confused."

"I guess that's to be expected."

Then Shiava heard the music that had woken him up. It was faint and very far away. It seemed to come from above.

"What's that?"

Gippal looked startled. "Oh, that?" he asked. "That's just the music on deck. It keeps us from being too bored when we work on top. Do you want to come on deck and help?"

"Do I ever!"

Rikku stepped forward. "Wait! Wiz says he needs to stay in bed for a while."

"A while? Rikku, I've been in bed for three days!"

* * *

Shiava followed the two on deck, and gasped. He had never seen so much activity before. Men and women bustled back and fourth seeing to repairs on the ship, working on engines, doing all sorts of things. But what made him gasp was not the activity, nor was it the vastness of the huge metal ship. It was the song that was playing. It was called _Someday. __"Someday…when my life has passed me by I'll lay around and wonder why…you were always there for me…" _the song had been Arenna's favorite song. Gippal regarded Shiava strangely. 

"Are you alright? You look like a fish gone belly up."

"Oh…sorry…I'm fine!"

Gippal shrugged and went back to giving orders, encouragement, and generally being captain. Rikku on the other hand, continued to look at Shiava. She wasn't sure, but she thought she had seen a look of profound sadness in Shiava's violet eyes.

Shiava looked at the sky. It was just as gray and overcast as when he had been rescued from Baaj Temple. Except now, it seemed to be nighttime. The sky was dark under the clouds. He was lost in his thoughts. So lost in fact that he didn't hear Rikku come up behind him.

"So…what's up?"

Shiava almost fell of the side of the ship he was so surprised. "No…nothing" he stammered. "Just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Oh, just personal, stupid things…"

"Like what?"

"Just personal, stupid things" Shiava repeated in a much more irritated voice. "Things I regret doing, things I should have done...people I shouldn't have killed…"

"People you shouldn't have killed!?"

"Shh, not so loud fool!" Shiava hissed. He hadn't realized he'd spoken that last part out loud. He was furious with himself, but he forced himself to remain calm. "Yes…people I shouldn't have killed. I have indeed killed other people…three to be exact. I killed two warrior monks in the Via Purifico." Ignoring Rikku's gasp, he continued. "Then…then I stole a boat and I escaped. But I got shipwrecked at Baaj." At least it was half the truth. He couldn't let them know the whole truth about Sin. Only one other person knew that…Arnis. But Shiava didn't expect to see _him_ again. But that was a different issue.

"So…you're on the run from the law?"

"You…I guess you could say that, yes…"

"Are you going to go running to Gippal and tell him what I said?" Shiava wasn't threatening. He was just tired.

"Well…we Al Bhed don't recognize Yevon as the government. We have our own State. So it wouldn't really make much of a difference. There aren't many Al Bhed who would turn you in for whatever crime you committed. Certainly none on this ship."

Shiava couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then something occurred to him. "If your people don't accept Yevon as the government, then you probably didn't get Grand Measter Mika's message to all people of Spira. Sin is—"

"We know" Rikku said sadly. "It was a sad day in the Home when we got the news." She looked into the water below. "I don't get it. Yunie and Tidus and everyone…we beat it. How could it come back?"

Shiava felt a guilty twinge in his stomach.

Suddenly Shiava felt another twinge. This one wasn't physical. It was more of a mental twinge. It was as if something had poked his mind. It was the same one he had felt in the cabin below. Then it grew stronger. Suddenly he heard Rikku scream. The water around the ship tossed and boiled. The ship began to bob up and down like a cork. The screams and curses of the crew carried across the water.

Gippal ran across the deck, cursing in Al Bhed. Then he stopped, bracing his legs on the floor like an experienced sailor. "Rikku, Con soonno may haross!" he called above whatever was causing the horrible disruption in the sea.

Rikku crawled across the deck toward him. She opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly she was drowned out by a much louder sound. It sounded like the cry of a whale, yet at the same time it sounded like a human being screaming in hatred and in pain. The hideous sound was so loud, that Shiava thought his eardrums were going to burst. He heard a person screaming in fear, and realized abruptly that it was himself! He recognized the sound, and apparently the crew did too, for Shiava saw the screams and curses fade into an awful silence. Eyes went glassy; hands went limp on tools and weapons. Then Shiava heard one part of the Al Bhed language he did understand.

"Sin!"

Gippal frantically tried to reach the captain's control room in the ship, but was hit by a solid wave of water and crashed, cursing vilely down the stairs.

Then as suddenly as it had arrived, Sin was gone. The water stopped tossing and pitching. Gippal staggered back up to the deck. He said something in Al Bhed in a loud voice to the crew. Whatever he said, it didn't seem to lift up their spirits much.

Shiava walked up the deck, slipping occasionally on the wet metal. He looked at the crew. The expressions on their faces were the same. Horror, shock. The statement that Sin had been resurrected somehow had been made real to them. Then, something caught his eyes. It was the radio that had been playing music. Shiava looked at the screen on the front and saw that the song, _Someday_, had been playing. Then he gasped. He looked at how many minutes the song had taken to play. It was the exact amount of time that Sin had attacked the boat.

Was it some kind of weird coincidence? Or could it be…no that was preposterous…but could it be?!...Could Arenna—Sin---be listening to her favorite song?

**Sorry about the horrible mauling of the Al Bhed language. I don't know what i said or if that was even it. I have no idea what to make of it, even with the Primers.**


	11. Reunion

Reunion

"Hey, Tidus! You want to hit some a' the bars around here?" Wakka the captain of the Besaid Aurochs asked. He was a stock, powerfully built man of twenty five. A big curl of red hair shot up from the blue headband he always wore. He also wore the yellow jumpsuit of the Aurochs all the time. Wakka spoke with a heavy Besaid accent

"No. I just want to find this stupid Luca Stadium, and then get out of this stupid city" nineteen year old Tidus complained. Tidus was also a player for the Besaid Aurochs. He was tall with brown hair and blue eyes. He wore black overalls, with a bright red symbol emblazoned on it. He wore a silver necklace with the same symbol on it. The fact that Tidus was so handsome drew him a lot of girls. But there was only one girl Tidus was interested in. Yuna. The two friends walked across the sidewalks in the city of Luca. "Apparently there's supposed to be a new Grand Measter or something. Mika stepped down. And we have to be there because we 'defeated' Sin."

Wakka paused at the bitterness in his best friend's voice. "Listen. We tried. An' we just couldn't get it, ya?"

"Humph" was Tidus' response. He was thinking about Yuna's face when the news of Sin's resurrection landed at Besaid Island, in the form of a government issued ship. It had been six weeks since the news arrived, but Yuna had brightened very little since then.

"Wakka! Tidus! What on Spira are you doing wandering around the city when we're supposed to be at the docks, waiting for Rikku and Gippal's ship to arrive?"

The stern voice belonged to Lulu, Wakka's girlfriend. A stern faced young woman in a floor length gray dress, Lulu's black hair was tied back in a severe bun. Her pale face was accented only by a small amount of purple lipstick. Lulu could be strict and severe, but she had a good heart.

"Sorry Lu, but Rikku called us long distance from Baaj. She said that Gippal took a detour and stopped there to give an offering. She said it'd take a few extra hours to get to Luca, even if they totally hauled."

Lulu seemed to accept Tidus' meek justification, and they went on. Soon they noticed a figure who stuck out from the crowd. A Ronso, eight feet tall stood still, his head moving from side to side. In his hand he held a long lance. He was dressed in green armor and his long hair was braided and plaited. His catlike face was stern but his eyes were gentle.

"Kimhari!" yelled Tidus. Kimhari gave Tidus a small wave. Unlike Measter Estarce, who had studied long and hard to learn human languages, Kimhari had not. He only knew limited English. Thus he stuck mostly to hand gestures unless absolutely necessary.

Soon the four of them, Lulu, Tidus, Kimhari, and Wakka, had headed off to the docks of Luca. Luca was a big city. It was almost as big as the capital, Bevelle, and it was a center of trade and commerce. All manner of beings were there. From Al Bhed, other humans, Guado, a race of tall willowy people with green hair and pointed ears, and even some Ronso. The streets and sidewalks abounded with people.

* * *

A lone person sat at the docks. High Summoner Yuna sat alone staring at her reflection. She was a petite young woman of eighteen with short brown hair, with a streak dyed blue. Some strange trick of genetics had given her one blue eye, and one green eye. Because of her Al Bhed heritage this green eye had the same lack of pupils that a full Al Bhed had in both eyes. Instead there were rings spread out across the iris. This made Yuna somewhat sensitive to bright light. She wore a sleeveless white shirt with a long blue skirt with white flower patterns on it. In one hand she held a short rod, about four feet long. Its body was made out of blue crystal, and its top was beaten gold in the flat shape of a flower. She was thinking about the battle between Sin, and her friends. They had beaten the core. But they had been careless it seemed. She wondered when her cousin Rikku was going to get to Luca. The ceremony of swearing in a new Grand Measter would commence when the ship carrying the chosen person, and the other measters as well as the Firstblade General arrived. Gippal's ship needed to arrive before then. Suddenly she saw a ship on the horizon. It was long and silver, bearing the symbol of the Al Bhed. It was actually quite grand. Rikku's father, Yuna's uncle was Cid, the leader of the Al Bhed. It made sense that he would want his daughter and heir to travel in a safe ship. A sudden movement behind her made Yuna turn around. She gasped in surprise. Tidus had run up behind her. He swept her into his arms.

"Tidus…what are you doing?" Yuna laughed. Tidus then deposited her in front of the entire group. "Oh my gods…" Yuna gasped. Then she burst into tears.

"Kimhari glad to see Yuna too" said Kimhari. Kimhari had raised Yuna from when she was a small child, after her parents had died fighting Sin. Soon the ship had arrived at the dock. The five friends gathered at the edge of the dock and gasped. The ship was dented and bashed up. It looked as if it had been in a storm.

As the gangplank came down Rikku stepped off of the ship. "Yunie!" she yelled and flung herself into her cousin's arms.

"Ugh! Nice to see you too Rikku" Yuna said. Everyone laughed, including Wakka. Wakka had once been a fierce racist against Al Bhed, but when they had met Rikku, all that had changed. The other members of the crew began to unload cargo from the ship. Then suddenly another person emerged. The person was a boy of about seventeen. He was wearing a strange assortment of clothes. He had on a black jacket that had silver crosses emblazoned on the forearms over a white T-shirt. His black pants were held up by a belt with a white buckle that said DB Baby! Even his sneakers were black. He also had two gold earrings in one ear. His clothes were battered and threadbare, as if he'd been traveling in them for a while, or had been in some kind of disaster. A sword with a bright red handle was slung in a scabbard across his back. But that wasn't all that was strange about this boy. His skin was deathly pale and his eyes were a bright violet. And his hair was white.

"Who are you?" asked Tidus.

The boy looked strangely at Tidus. It was as if he had waited a lifetime to talk to him. "My…my name's Shiava. Shiava Horst."

"Nice to meet you Shiava" Tidus said.

"Shiava was shipwrecked at Baaj Temple. He was going to get eaten by a fiend, and we saved him!" Rikku chimed in.

Lulu raised her eyebrows. "Baaj is a long way away from civilization. How did you get to be shipwrecked there?"

Shiava sighed. He had been dreading this part. Over the journey to Luca he had concocted a lie, a modified version of the one he told Rikku. He had found though, that it was difficult to lie, even if yours was unrecognizable from the truth. Your conscience was beating you to death, while you felt as if your words burned your mouth as they passed your lips.

"I'm a Firstblade. That's why I have a red handled sword. Me…me and a friend got into an argument. I killed him. I was sentenced to die in the Via Purifico. But I escaped and killed two warrior monks. Then I stole a boat and got shipwrecked."

Stunned silence greeted this lie. While it was half the truth, it still didn't mean that it was good.

"That's pretty heavy, ya?" said Wakka. "I mean…murder..."

Shiava had anticipated this however. He put on his most humble face. "But…being that close to death made me…repent my sins. I vowed that I would spend my life helping others. When I heard that Sin had been resurrected, I…I decided that I would try to become a guardian to any summoner who would take on Sin. If I can help end Spira's suffering, I can truly find redemption."

"You are truly an admirable person" said Yuna. She looked at Shiava. "You're a sword mage right? Someone who can commune with the elements and inanimate objects?"

"Yes" answered Shiava. He wondered where this conversation was going.

"It must truly be a blessing to be one" Yuna continued. "Because if what people say sword mages can do is true…you're never truly by yourself." She blushed. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to say that, if I ever met one."

Soon the five friends and the new guardian were headed into the shopping district of Luca.

"We have _got _to get you some new clothes!" said Rikku. "You can't go to the ceremony looking like something the cat dragged in!"

Soon the Al Bhed and the sword mage were in the clothes section of the shopping district. Shiava basically bought several new versions of the outfit he was wearing with the money he had in a small pouch he carried.

"You're going to wear new versions of that same lame outfit?!" Rikku shrieked. She had practically had a coronary when Shiava had revealed himself in his new clothes.

"Yep" said Shiava. "I love this outfit. At the Palace I had…" he trailed off suddenly. He didn't like talking about the memories he had of the Palace of St. Bevelle. It made him sad. Soon he and Rikku parted ways. The six had decided to meet at the entrance of the Luca Stadium in an hour. Normally the stadium was used for Blitzball, but the swearing in ceremony of the new Grand Measter was to take place there. Shiava smiled grimly. So, Mika had "stepped down". Mika was an unsent, one of those already dead. He had not stepped down, but let himself fall into death and into the Farplane. Shiava's words of "Leaving Spira to the living" must have had more of an impact than he had thought. With these cheery thoughts in mind, Shiava went into a store to buy a new watch. He wound up with a new shiny silver digital one. Then he went into a restaurant called Café Lantencer. It was a restaurant that he and Arenna been to once when they traveled to Luca a while ago.

* * *

After eating Shiava looked at his watch and realized that he only had twenty minutes to get to Luca stadium with Lady Yuna and her guardians. After paying the bill, he wandered through the streets, trying to find the stadium. He also thought about Yuna and Tidus and the others. Was it right to use them to get what he wanted? Arnis had been right. He didn't really give a damn about the world and its people. He wanted to free Arenna. But at what cost? _"Oh well"_ Shiava thought nonchalantly, _"they'll believe me and I'll get what I need from them. Once they get me into the core, I'll stop them from _killing _Sin. We'll just free Arenna." _Once again he felt a rush of guilt, which he quickly dispelled with the thought of him and Arenna talking and laughing together. Then the young sword mage saw something that made his blood turn to ice in his veins. A man in a red robe was walking from the dock area to the large map in the middle of the city. The man's hair was black and heavily grayed. Sir Auron examined the map and began walking back to where he had come from.

"_Erth, Darkness, and Keeper, forgive my sins" _thought Shiava in despair. Of course Auron would join them on the quest to fight Sin! He had accompanied Yuna's father, and he had gone with Yuna on the other journey. He would do the same now. And if he saw Shiava with them… Auron knew what had happened back there in Bevelle, or at least part of it. Enough to be very damaging to Shiava's plan. Shiava tried to blend in with the crowd so that Auron wouldn't see him. This is extremely hard to do if you're deathly pale, with white hair and bright violet eyes. And dressed almost completely in black. There were exactly five hundred sword mages on Spira. It was pretty hard to blend in.

Finally he reached the stadium. Yuna, Wakka, Tidus, Kimhari, Rikku, and Lulu stood out side the crowded entrance. As well as…Sir Auron. His blood congealing in his veins, Shiava forced his suddenly wooden legs to move onward. "H…hello guys…" he said, his voice shaking.

"What's wrong with you, Shiava?" Tidus asked. You're shaking like a leaf."

"I'm just…excited that's all…"

Yuna stepped forward. "Shiava I know you've probably heard of him, but let me introduce Sir Auron."

"We've met" said Auron in his deep voice. He shook Shiava's hand. Shiava couldn't tell if he was happy, surprised or angry.

"You have?" Tidus asked. "Shiava you sly dog, why didn't you tell us you met Auron before?"

"We met…just briefly…" Shiava said. He could hardly talk for the butterflies in his stomach.

As they entered the stadium, Shiava wondered how this unwelcome arrival would affect his plans.


	12. New guardian, New Measter

New guardian, new Measter

The Luca Stadium was huge. It had huge rows of black seats, each on a different level. There was no ceiling in the massive space, so the clear blue sky could be seen through the top. In the center was a giant sphere of water, held that way by artificial gravity generators. The white and gold stone of the structure glittered in the early afternoon sunlight. The crowd inside the stadium marveled at the man made beauty inside the structure.

This beauty was lost upon one particular sword mage as he walked with his famous new "friends". Shiava was so nervous, he felt like throwing up. He was in constant fear that Auron would reveal the truth behind his lie. When Yuna had been telling Auron about Shiava's "history", the young sword mage's stomach almost emptied all of its contents then and there. But the legendary guardian had not said a single word. The only movement he made was a small rising of one eyebrow. Shiava allowed himself a moment's comfort. Even if Auron chose to reveal the lie, he didn't know the true horror of Shiava's deeds. He _couldn't _know that Shiava and his friends had accidentally resurrected Sin. Now they were sitting in the next to top row of seats. At the top were five balconies. Around the each of balconies there was a guard of twelve warrior monks, their silver armor glinting, their AK-47's held at attention. The balconies reminded Shiava of the platforms in the High Court so much that he shivered.

"What's wrong?" asked Rikku. She had noticed his shudder.

"Oh…oh nothing, just a bad memory."

The eight (now that they had been joined by Auron and Shiava) sat in their seats. The swearing in of a new Grand Measter was to begin in ten minutes. Then Auron spoke.

"When the ceremony takes place, we will have to stand next to the new Grand Measter, as the people who 'struck down Spira's suffering'. This will happen at the end." He pointed to Shiava. "You will stay here until the ceremony is over. I think it would be better."

As to what he meant, Shiava wasn't sure.

Suddenly, horns began to blow. The high clarion call echoed throughout the huge stadium. "People gathered here today!" shouted a voice. Shiava was startled to see Shilinda, commander of the warrior monks. She was standing in the biggest of the balconies. It was in the middle of all the others. Her voice was magnified by at least ten microphones at the edge. "We are here to celebrate the arrival of a new leader of Spira!" Shilinda paused. "Measters are chosen from the best of the best of our aristocrats and lords. But the Grand Measter must outstrip these expectations! Thus, do we give you our measters of Spira! The measters must always be served, of course by those faithful swordsmen and women of Spira, the Firstblades. We also give you our Firstblade General!"

There was a raucous applause. The whole building resonated with it.

One the balconies appeared the measters of Yevon. Shiava recognized Measter Andrick, and Measter Estarce. But the tall woman on the middle balcony he didn't recognize. Unlike the orange or red, or even the tan robes of a Grand Measter, this woman wore long black robes. The long, flowing sleeves of these robes were trimmed with violet and almost touched the floor. In her hand she held a long wooden staff. The staff was not unusual except for the top. It was topped with a glowing green ball at the top. The woman's skin was a pale grayish green and there were deep lines around her mouth. Instead of hair she had black horns that seemed to function in that way. She looked extremely stern and forbidding. Her long fingers were tipped with red nails.

"I present to you Grand Measter Maleficent!" Shilinda's magnified voice rose to a crescendo.

"Maleficent!" Lulu gasped. Her face was shocked.

"What's wrong?" Shiava asked.

Lulu took a while to respond. "Like me, Maleficent is a sorceress, one who uses magic. While I call upon the elements for my magic, however, Maleficent calls upon Darkness, god of void for her powers. There were many in the government of Yevon who believed that Maleficent is not worthy of being Mika's successor." Lulu paused. "However, Maleficent is rich and powerful, with enough political power, to have convinced them to let her become Grand Measter to all of Spira."

"Not all of Spira" Shiava whispered, thinking of the Al Bhed's contempt for Yevon.

Maleficent walked forward to make her speech. "My dear people of Spira" she began. Her voice was as cold, sharp, and clear as an ice dagger. "My dear people of Spira, we stood in the age of a new beginning. Sin had been vanquished and the world was facing a new hope. However a terrible shadow has once again fallen over the world. Sin has been resurrected. There may still be hope yet, my dear people! The very people who struck down the great monster are here today! The legendary High Summoner Yuna and her guardians!"

The crowd went crazy clapping like mad. Here and there, however, there were a few jeers and mutters. People were wondering why Yuna was so famous if she hadn't defeated Sin completely.

Yuna and the others stepped onto the balcony with Grand Measter Maleficent. Yuna blushed fiercely as the crowd waved to her.

"Th…thank you for the warm greeting" Yuna said shyly. She wasn't accustomed to public speaking.

Suddenly another voice spoke. "It is an honor to meet you Lady Yuna. You and your guardians. I never thought that I would have such an opportunity." The voice belonged to a rather handsome boy of seventeen who had come through the curtains at the back of the high balcony. He was dressed in a red shirt with several medals on it. The shirt was decorated at the shoulders by gold epaulettes. His pants were red as well, and perfectly neat. A jeweled, red handled sword hung at his side. His face with its friendly smile and blond hair and brown eyes was very comforting. He looked too young to be dressed in such a splendid uniform.

"Who are you?" asked Tidus impatiently. The whole ceremony was beginning to make him rather annoyed. He just wanted to get on the road to defeating Sin.

"My name is Arnis Kelsin, Firstblade General."

As he drew nearer to the group, Yuna felt something suddenly. It was almost a feeling of cold, but more in her mind. It made her shiver suddenly.

Wakka looked at Yuna in concern. "You alright Yuna?" he asked in concern.

"I…I'm fine" Yuna answered softly. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about this Arnis wasn't right.

"It's a pleasure to meet the Firstblade General" Yuna said cautiously She reached out her hand to shake his. Arnis was wearing white gloves as part of his uniform, but Yuna could feel that his hand was very cold.

"Forgive me Lady Yuna, but are you alright?" Arnis asked politely.

"What? Oh, nothing, I was just thinking."

After they had gone back into the lower levels of the stadium, Lulu looked at Yuna. "There was something bothering you back there, we all could see it."

"Yeah Yunie, what's up?" asked Rikku.

"It's not Sin is it?" asked Tidus. "Because if it is, you can rest assured that we'll…"

Yuna held up her hand for silence. "No…it's not that. It's just…Firstblade General Arnis just…there's a feeling around him that I can't explain. It's like a cold…only in my mind. And his hand…it was cool…not warm at all…"

"What are you suggesting?" asked Lulu sharply.

"Nothing" Yuna said. "It's just…oh I don't know…maybe it's better not to say anything at all…"


	13. Three Conspirators

Three Conspirators

Arnis Kelsin admired himself in the mirror. He had changed back into his regular clothes which felt a lot better than that silly official uniform of the Firstblade General. As he stood in front of the mirror in his room at the Palace of St. Bevelle, Arnis considered the events of the past three hours. The ship that the he and the measters had come to Luca in had been destroyed in the Sin attack. They had been forced to take an airship back to Bevelle. Not that Arnis minded. It was beautiful to see Sin carrying out the work the gods had planned for it. He frowned however. Something wasn't right, something was interfering…It was the song! That blasted song! _It _was the reason that Sin had backed away from Luca, not some blessed grace! Arnis fumed with anger. How could something like this stand in the way of the divine plan? As he pondered what to do, Arnis relaxed. It would all come together, it always did. He looked at himself again in the mirror. Not bad for someone who had been dead for six weeks. In truth, he didn't _feel_ any differently than he had before Shiava had killed him. There were only a few differences. The first one was eating. He was never hungry or thirsty. It wasn't being full, he just wasn't hungry. The second was not having any of the body functions that the living bothered with. The third was having a faint feeling of needing to go somewhere. Not any particular place just _somewhere. _Arnis remembered Puppet holding his hand, and showing him the splendor of the Farplane. Arnis was about to step through the shining gate when the thought of his mission had returned to him. He had then politely declined the god of death's offer, and returned to the world of the living. He would gladly return to the paradise of the Farplane when his mission was complete. All this because Shiava had killed him. Arnis suddenly smiled at the thought of Shiava. He was sure Shiava wasn't dead. In fact he was ninety nine percent sure that his semi-goth friend was still alive.

A sharp knock on his door startled the Firstblade General. He opened the door to find a panting servant. "He…her Grace, Grand Measter Maleficent wishes to see you. She says that the matter cannot wait."

Arnis frowned. He would have preferred to stay in his room and think his private thoughts. But an order from a measter, especially the Grand Measter could not be ignored. As he traveled through the Palace halls, Arnis wondered what Maleficent could want. Arnis also began to reflect on his own personal history. Arnis Kelsin had been named after his father, and born in the rich port city of Kornos Port. His parents had taken their fortune and moved to the city of Alvade on the Moonflow River when Arnis was two months. When Arnis was four years old, the city had been attacked by Sin. Alvade had been razed to the ground. There were a few survivors, but Arnis' parents were not among them. Their will stated that Arnis was to be sent to the Bevelle to be trained as a Firstblade. Thus Arnis was raised by his grandparents until he was nine. All this time Arnis had been thinking about Sin. He had come to terms with his parents deaths, thinking that they had been the sacrifice for a greater cause. He began to doubt the stories of Sin being divine punishment, and instead believed the "truth". Sin was simply the means of keeping the balance in Spira. It was a glorious blessing. He knew however that he could not voice his views out loud however. He must keep them secret. He knew that the gods were calling on him, that it was his destiny to one day alter history. When High Summoner Yuna had defeated Sin, Arnis realized that it was up to him to save the divine creation of the gods. Thus, he had plotted and schemed for two years and had come up with nothing. So when Arenna had become Sin, he realized that it could only be the intervention of the gods. Arnis then formed a plan that would be compatible with the new situation. It was all the will of the gods. Even his death had been in the divine plan. Was it not just like a divine savior to return from the dead? He was doing just that. Why, he should be called Saint Arnis. Arnis stopped his thinking. He had arrived at the room Maleficent had arranged the meeting in.

* * *

The room was medium size and relatively comfortable. A large table stood in the middle of the room. The walls and carpet were a light emerald green, and the wooden shelves in the corner were of the finest make. An enameled chess set stood on the table in the center. The chess pieces were marble and obsidian. Maleficent sat at the head of the table staring at the pieces. The Grand Measter's black and violet robes seemed to burn a cold hole in the brightness of the room. Measter Andrick also sat in another chair, looking uncomfortable. Arnis looked for Measter Estarce, but the Ronso was nowhere to be seen.

"Now then" said Maleficent, folding her long fingers together. "I have called you her to discuss an issue I'm sure we all now about."

"What is that issue?" asked Measter Andrick.

"Sin" responded Maleficent. "I have come here to discuss Sin. As we all know, High Summoner Yuna failed to defeat it the first time."

"Yes, it is…tragic that it continues to roam Spira" said Arnis.

Maleficent gave Arnis a strange look. It was cold and clear, like her voice, and also slightly calculating. "Yes it is tragic…and I purpose to do something about it." She paused. "Something that could profit us." Then Maleficent turned to both of them. "Do you know why Measter Estarce is not here?" she asked.

Arnis had been wondering the same thing. From the look on Measter Andrick's face, he had been wondering the same.

"He is not here because Ronso seem to have a sense of 'honor to the people of the world' philosophy, and if he _was_ here, he would certainly say everything that went on in this room tonight." She paused as a servant entered with a tray of small brownies. "Would you like some?" she asked Arnis and Andrick. Measter Andrick accepted them eagerly, but Arnis declined politely. He only ate for pleasure now, and he didn't feel like eating now. He was too interested in what the Grand Measter was going to say.

Maleficent waited a good eight minutes after the servant left before resuming the conversation. "What is said in this room tonight must _stay_ in this room. Before you protest, saying that is how it has always been with matters of the State of Yevon, I assure you that you will understand soon enough." Maleficent smiled.

"What's going on?" asked Measter Andrick.

Maleficent ignored him, and turned to Arnis. "You must forgive me asking such an intense personal question, but you are already dead am I right?"

Arnis was shocked. Only those trained in the art of a summoner could learn to sense the walking dead. "Ho…how did you figure it out?" he stammered, more embarrassed than scared. He had a feeling that Maleficent was not going to have a summoner Send him.

"I figured it out when I was first ordained as Grand Measter, long before the swearing in ceremony. You have a certain look to you, no feeling of _life _that the living have. There is also the fact that I've only seen you eat sparingly at the celebration feast and never drink, and if I look close enough, I can see that you don't breathe."

"Oh…very observant…I guess" Arnis said. "Now what is going on?"

Maleficent sat back in her chair. She moved the black king a step on the chess board. "Sin is running amok in Spira, killing, destroying. However, it doesn't have to be this way. Thus I have a plan to profit myself, and those I chose to include in my plan. Sin is created by the core of the monster forging itself around an unwilling human soul." She moved the white queen in front to the black king. "By a complex magical ritual, I might be able to seize control of the soul trapped within."

Measter Andrick gasped and began choking on a bit of brownie. Arnis just stared, surprise in his unliving eyes.

"Y…you (cough, cough!) want to con...control Sin! Are you (gasp!) mad?!" said Measter Andrick.

Maleficent gave him a cold stare that quieted him down. "In seizing control of Sin, I seize control of Spira itself. There will be no more insurrection from the Al Bhed, no more disagreement about policies on how to deal with people who do not follow the laws. I shall rule Spira utterly, not just under the title of Grand Measter."

Arnis was surprised and disgusted by the blatant avarice in Maleficent's plan. Yet suddenly in the midst of these emotions, a fire of pure happiness sprang to life inside him. This was it! _This_ was how the gods intended to have him instate the cycle permanently on Spira. They had put Maleficent in his path just for this reason! All he had to do was combine his own plans for Lady Yuna and her guardians to the mix and he would be victorious! The cycle would be victorious, Sin would be victorious!

"Arnis?" asked Measter Andrick faintly. "You look like you're having some kind of religious revelation."

_"Oh, but I am my dear Measter Andrick"_ thought Arnis, "_I have found the path, and I shall lead this world into the sanctity of suffering!"_

"Well, what do the two of you have to say?" asked Maleficent in her cold, clear voice.

Arnis took an unnecessary deep breath. "I will join you Measter Maleficent. I think it's an excellent plan."

"What of you Measter Andrick?"

Measter Andrick looked terrible. His face was deathly white, and sweat dripped it. "I…" he faltered. Then, seeming to struggle intensely with something for a minute, finally sighed. "I agree. Count me in." He suddenly paused. "What of Lady Yuna and her guardians? They're hell bent on defeating Sin, if they do it'll be the end of your...our plan."

"Let us say that we will…prevent them from doing this, to say the least." Maleficent rose. "That is all. I must find out more clues as to who the poor wretch that Sin has chosen is. I will call upon you when I have need." With that, the sorceress/measter vanished. She simply disappeared from sight. Only her cold voice lingered for a few minutes after, repeating what she had said at the beginning of the meeting. "What is said in this room stays in this room…"


	14. Boat Trip

**Boat Trip**

As they boarded the ship, Shiava said to Tidus that there was something he had wanted to ask him.

"Yeah?" said Tidus. "What is it?"

"Your father, Jecht was a famous Blitzball player. Did he really die being the Final Aeon for Yuna's father?"

Tidus lowered his eyes. "Yeah, he did."

Shiava was suddenly embarrassed and filled with sympathy. If Jecht had been the Final Aeon, than it also meant that he was Sin when Yuna and the others had beaten it.

Tidus seemed to know what the sword mage was thinking. "Don't feel too bad about it."

"But to kill your own father…"

"Yeah, that was hard. He was a good guy, a great Blitzball player. When he wasn't getting drunk and beating me." Tidus' voice suddenly filled with bitterness.

"But High Summoner Braska and Jecht knew Auron?"

"Yep. Auron used to be a Firstblade too. He raised me from when I was small after my old man died."

Tidus suddenly pulled out a strange looking sword. It seemed to be made out of glass, and filled with water. It had an ornate handle and strange hook like device at the end of the blade. The Blitzball player began to clean it with a rag.

"What is that?" asked Shiava.

"It's Brotherhood" said Tidus. It's kind of a long story. Wakka had a little brother named Chappu, and it was his sword. They made it together and called it Brotherhood. But Chappu got killed in a Sin attack and Wakka gave it to me when we first met." He turned to Shiava. "What's your sword called?" he asked.

"Oh mine? Nothing. I never thought about naming a sword."

Tidus laughed. "If that doesn't take the cake. A sword mage, one who can talk to the elements and inanimate objects doesn't want to name a sword! I thought you'd be the first one to name a sword."

Shiava was about to laugh when it stuck in his throat. Auron was walking down the deck. He didn't say anything, he simply passed them by. But Shiava couldn't help feeling scared. Auron might change his mind and reveal the secret anyway.

"Hey Shiava, are you all right?" Shiava turned to see Rikku and Wakka coming toward him on the deck. "We're gonna go to bed" Wakka said.

"The captain says we'll be in Kornos at five o' clock tomorrow" said Rikku. "I can't wait! Kornos has all sorts of different places to see and visit."

"I'm worried" said a voice. Yuna was coming out of a door on the side of the wall.

Tidus walked over and put his arm around her shoulders. "Why're you worried?" he asked. "Kornos is a nice place."

"Kornos Port is not noted for being very friendly to Al Bhed. Yevon has a strong influence there."

Suddenly Kimhari walked up to them. The tall Ronso had come so silently that no one had noticed him. He gestured to Rikku.

"Yes I'm afraid that Rikku might be treated unfairly while their. I don't think that my presence will be enough to nullify it anymore."

"That's fine. I can take care of myself" Rikku said stoutly.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Lulu had also come to the deck. The eight stood on the deck, watching the black ocean pass under the ship. In the distance they heard the _bang! _of harpoon guns, and the excited shouting of the sporting passengers.

* * *

Soon almost everyone was in bed. Shiava tossed and turned in his cabin. Try as he might, sleep seemed to evade him. It was as if all of his sins had been waiting for one more, and they could be let free to run rampant across his consciousness. Images flashed before his closed eyes, Arnis dying with Shiava's sword in his chest, Arenna touching the core, the shock and pain in her brown eyes, the two warrior monks lying dead in their own blood, and finally Yuna and her guardians. No, the more appropriate term would be friends. Surely Yuna regarded her guardians as more than just that. They were her friends, even Auron. And now Shiava was their "friend". He choked back a sob. How could he have deceived them! It all seemed to make such sense back there in the daylight. But now, with none to look at but himself, Shiava found his resolve weakening. He finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

While Shiava was tormented by his conscience, Lulu and Wakka were having a conversation on the deck about the newest addition to their team.

"Lu, I don't get what you're so uptight about. Shiava's a good guy, ya?"

The sorceress' face was unreadable. "I don't know. Oh, he seems nice enough. But look at his eyes, when he thinks you're not watching."

Wakka misunderstood the statement. "Oh, Lu! I'm surprised at you, makin' fun of someone like that. He can't help that he's all pale and has violet eyes and white hair! It's what sword mage's have!"

Lulu waved her hand impatiently. "No, no, no you have it all wrong! I mean his eyes…they're the eyes of a tormented soul. One stained with many sins. If I had my guess, I'd say he's either done something really horrible, or he _thinks_ he done something really horrible."

"Well he did murder his buddy…"

"Yes there is that. But I just can't shake the feeling it's more than that. Did you notice he has two promise rings on his right hand?"

"So?"

Lulu gave an exasperated sigh. "So? If he has a promise ring at all it means that you're promised to someone. He has a girlfriend somewhere. But what I want to know is why he's wearing two."

"What do you think?"

"What I think is that whatever fight he had with this unnamed friend of his had to do with his girlfriend."

"Maybe it's better we don't pry, ya?"

"Maybe we should."

"Why do you say that?"

"I want to know what happened to him before he joined us. He's hiding something and I'm going to find it out."

The two went to bed. And on the ship, all was quiet.


	15. Fight on the boat

Fight on the boat

Shiava woke up to find sunlight streaming through his cabin window. At first, he assumed that was what had woken him up. Then, to his horror he realized that he had egg yolk dripping down his face and in his hair.

"_How the hell did this happen to me?!" _he screamed.

He was interrupted by a giggle. Rikku was laughing, fully dressed in the doorway. "I got up extra early to pull a prank on you!" she cried.

"Why did you do that?" Shiava asked.

"Because you're the newest member of our team, that's why! Rikku said impatiently. "You should be more grateful. I _did_ stay up till twelve thinking up how to pick your lock and sneak over to your bed to do this!"

"Gee, lucky me" Shiava muttered sarcastically. Great. This was all he needed. A dedicated practical joker.

"Anyway" Rikku said, changing the subject "it's time to get up! We've got a whole day ahead of us!"

Groaning, Shiava threw her out of the room, before dressing (his same outfit) and brushing his teeth.

The group had gathered at the Dining Hall and were chatting. Everyone grew silent when he entered. For a moment Shiava was paralyzed with fear. Had Auron gone back on his word not to tell?

"Hey Shiava!" said Tidus. "We were wondering whether you were going to even get up. Are among the living now?"

Tidus laughed at his joke, but Shiava felt cold inside. Jokes about the living and the dead no longer amused him. He knew how well each could masquerade as the other.

As they ate, Yuna described what they were going to do once they got to Kornos. "Kornos is a very wealthy and _very_ conservative place. I already said last night that I don't think that they'll welcome Rikku. I think that the rest of us will be alright. But be careful."

Lulu spoke. "My friend, Dulac the sorcerer, lives in a manor in a suburb of Kornos. It's a beautiful place. The whole city's on an island."

She looked at Shiava the whole time while speaking. Was it just him, or was she looking more intensely into his eyes? It had to be just him.

Shiava thought about this Dulac as the ship sailed on. He wondered if Dulac was young or old. Shiava lay back in his deck chair and allowed, for the first time in what seemed like eternity, his mind to wander. He allowed himself to think about the people he knew. It was then that his mind came upon Lord Bernick.

Lord Bernick was Arenna's grandfather. It was he who had raised her along with servants, when Lord Hugh, had been unwilling to raise his illegitimate daughter. He was a nice, kind person. Bernick had once been a summoner. But he had been attacked by Al Bhed on his pilgrimage. The Al Bhed had injured something in him, something that allowed him to summon aeons. But Lord Bernick was not the least bit bitter about it. In fact, he was happy that he wasn't able to confront Sin. It would have meant the end of his life. Instead he happily raised his family. Shiava had seen Lord Bernick twice. Both times had been when he visited Arenna at the Palace. The old summoner had taken a liking to Shiava, saying that he was glad that Shiava and Arnis had stopped the other students from teasing Arenna, for the most part. Those were the days…

Suddenly Shiava began to feel a strange twinge in his mind. Before his sleepy brain could figure out what it meant, a terrified cry sounded from somewhere. "SIN!!!"

As if in answer, the water around the ship began to toss and boil. Shiava leaped off his deck chair as if it were on fire. What he saw amazed him. A gigantic dorsal fin, the size of one of the skyscrapers in Bevelle, was cruising through the water, next to the ship.

Yuna rushed onto the deck. Her face grew pale and grim. She quickly called everyone to the deck.

Suddenly the _bang! _of the harpoon guns sounded. As Shiava watched in shock, the harpooners shot the little spears into Sin's fin. They were the size of pins compared to the massive dorsal fin.

The captain of the ship rushed forward, looking frantic and afraid. "Forgive us, Lady Yuna!" he cried, "but our families are in Kornos Port, and it's heading that way!" He began to give rapid orders to the crew. "Fire that harpoon Charely! Keep the engines running at top speed, Wilston! That abomination will not have Kornos!"

"Everyone! Gather around me!" cried Yuna above the chaos. The seven guardians stood around their summoner. "We must help them" Yuna said. "It is the job of a summoner to fight Sin, and help the people of Spira."

"Then let's go!" shouted Tidus, drawing Brotherhood. Wakka pulled out a blitzball. This blitzball was heavy looking, and covered with spikes. Kimhari pulled out his long lance. Rikku readied her pouches full of grenades. Auron pulled out his long sword. Shiava readied himself, drawing his Firstblade sword.

"Let's get it!" he yelled.

Suddenly the deck lurched beneath them. The ship began to move even faster. "What's going on?!" yelled Wakka.

With a thrill of horror, they realized that the ship was being pulled by Sin. The harpoons had acted like anchors, pulling the ship along with Sin. As they struggled along the deck, Tidus pointed. The scales on Sin's gigantic fin were begging to break off. The scales fell onto the deck of the ship and began to unfold.

"Great. Sinscales. Just what we need" Shiava muttered.

Auron suddenly stepped forward, swinging his sword. He managed to kill three of the monsters with one swing.

Shiava rushed forward, swinging. One of the Sinscales lunged at Lulu. The sorceress raised her hand. A ball of fire immediately consumed the Sinscale, which vanished with a horrible shriek. Kimhari struck one after another with his long spear.

"A little help here?!" Wakka screamed. His deadly spiked blitzball was taking out Sinscale after Sinscale, but it wasn't enough. He had already been wounded in the back twice.

"Hold on Wakka!" Rikku tossed a grenade into the group. It exploded sending the body parts of the abominations flying.

Yuna stepped forward. She raised her staff above Wakka. "Heal" she whispered. Blue light flew out of her staff, onto Wakka's injuries. They disappeared as if they had never been.

"Thanks Yuna!" he said.

"Everyone move!" Yuna yelled. She began to wave her staff in a complicated circle, while standing stock still. A circle of light suddenly surrounded the young summoner. The clouds suddenly swirled around and around. A piercing cry split the air, like some huge bird. A large creature, the same size as Yuna dropped down from the sky. It looked like a cross between a reptile and a bird of prey. It flapped its leathery wings lo land on the deck. Yuna stroked its beak and feathered head. It was Valefor, an aeon.

"Whoa!" Shiava stood still, mesmerized by the sight. The aeon was strange, yet somehow hauntingly beautiful. It brought tears to Shiava's eyes. This was the sacrifice of some unknown person who had chosen to deny their spirit happiness and become a Fayth.

Valefor flew up into the air, hovering a few feet above the deck. Shiava could hear sailors and passengers alike gasping in wonder. The aeon gave a powerful flap of its wings. A gust of wind knocked the remaining Sinscales off the boat and into the water.

Suddenly the whole ship abruptly listed to one side, as the gigantic dorsal fin moved to the right side of the ship. Screams echoed as people tried to keep from falling off. Lulu raised her hand again. A powerful bolt of lightning struck Sin's fin, blowing off small chunks of flesh. There was a sickening smell. Yuna quickly made another motion with her staff. Valefor disappeared as suddenly as it had come. The others watched helplessly as Lulu and Wakka continued to strike the massive fin. Only those with long range attacks could reach the monstrous appendage.

After ten minutes of this, the harpoons suddenly snapped off. The fin submerged into the churning water. The battle was over.

Wakka put his blitzball down, just in time to catch Lulu, who fell onto the deck. She was panting with exhaustion, and her face was a horrible gray color. "You okay Lu?" Wakka asked.

It was a strain for the sorceress to even speak. "I…when magic users…when we use magic, we have to give a little of our energy. If we give too much…it winds up draining our very…life force."

"At least we won" said Shiava optimistically.

"We won nothing" Auron said grimly. "All we did was delay the inevitable. Sin will reach Kornos Port. I'm afraid there will be a great slaughter."

Everyone looked downcast. Shiava realized that while they had been battling Sin, the sun had dropped almost below the clouds, painting the sky a wondrous purple mixed with red. It glittered on the water, making it a beautiful sight. Shiava sighed. He didn't want to think about what they would find in Kornos.

* * *

"Daddy, Daddy look what Mommy got me!" said the young boy dancing up and down. His father, a rich merchant had just come home from a tiring day at work. But he always made time for his son.

"I see…oh! A new blitzball. Want to play with it at the beach?"

"Do I ever!"

Suddenly there was a strange noise. It sounded like a whale's cry and at the same time a human being screaming in pain and hatred. Everyone in the city turned to the ocean. Many people gasped, others screamed or fainted. Sin was coming to Kornos Port. The monster's fin and head could be seen above the water. As it approached the city, it seemed to generate a gravitational force. Bits of loose land and buildings flew into the air, forming a cyclone of debris. The monster uttered its unholy cry again, as it began to plow through the rich port city. The city of Kornos Port had never, in its entire three hundred year history had a Sin attack. Stampedes were rampant in the streets as people tried to escape. But there was no escape. Sin sent a massive ball of purple and white light from its gaping mouth. It filled the streets, sizzling the bodies of all in the streets. Screams of fear turned to screams of pain as people died in the cursed abyss that was Kornos.

And, amid the wreckage, and the dead bodies, there floated in the water, the new blitzball of a child.


	16. The Sending

The Sending

The ship plowed through the purple and red sea. The crew and the passengers were silent. Each knew what they would most likely find in Kornos. One crew member, a strapping man almost as tall as the eight foot Kimhari, broke down crying, saying he had gotten drunk and yelled at his wife and small daughter. In a tearful prayer to the gods, he promised that if they were alright he would never drink again.

"Are…are people dead?" asked Rikku in a subdued voice.

"Yes Rikku…there are going to be a lot of dead people in Kornos." Yuna looked pale and drawn. Her shoulders slumped. Her inability to save the people of Kornos Port weighed heavily on the young summoner. Suddenly Kimhari put his massive paw around her shoulder.

"Yuna did right" was all he said. Then he turned back to watch the horizon.

"Thank you Kimhari" Yuna said, smiling weakly.

They traveled on in silence for several more hours.

Suddenly, the lookout shouted "Land Ho! We're at…" suddenly his voice fell flat. "We're at Kornos…Port."

Everyone gasped. They had expected damage, but nothing as bad as this. It was like a sight from a nightmare. Nine tenths of the city had been destroyed. There was wreckage and dead bodies floating in the water, sometimes so thickly that the ship had to turn to avoid them.

"This…this is awful…" Wakka said, horrified. Lulu who had recovered some of her strength, stood leaning against the railing in mute shock. Auron said nothing. Yuna buried her face in her hands and sobbed. Tidus gathered her in his arms. Shiava's already bloodless face grew even paler as he looked at the destruction around him. Kimhari covered his face with his paws. Rikku looked away.

Shiava stared at the second promise ring on his hand. It seemed to sear his flesh, but he knew it was only his imagination. **He **was responsible for the desolation and death around him. It was all his fault. Shiava wept then, not so much for himself, but for Arenna who was condemned to eternal life as Spira's suffering. He wept for Arnis who could not help that he was insane, and finally he wept for all the innocents who had died this day without knowing what was coming. Shiava wiped his eyes on his sleeve. The sun painted the still water red as blood.

The ship was forced to stop at the begging of the wreckage. The wharf no longer existed. All that remained of it was broken wood, chunks of stone, and the charred bodies of the unfortunate. The gangplank dislodged with a _creak_. Shakily, the summoner and her guardians disembarked from the vessel. The captain buried his face in his hands and cried like a child.

A man walked up to the party. He was tall and thin, and he wore the ragged and waterlogged remains of what had once been a fine suit. However, that was not the most surprising thing about him. It was that one arm was wrapped in a bloodstained bandage. One half of it was missing. "Hello, Lady Yuna and guardians" he said, bowing formally to them. "I am Calhout, mayor of Kornos Port." He sighed sadly. "I'm afraid that the city is not in its former glory."

Yuna stepped forward. "My guardians and I will do anything we can to help" she said.

"You bet we will!" said Tidus stoutly.

The mayor looked uncomfortable. "L…Lady Yuna…could you please…you know…it's only proper…"

"Of course" Yuna said gently. "I will perform the Sending soon."

Shiava shuddered inwardly. It was the first time he would actually get to watch a summoner Send souls of the dead to the afterlife. He wondered what it would be like.

Soon Shiava and the others got to work, finding survivors, helping their injuries (Yuna's healing magic) and comforting the dying.

After a few hours of this, Yuna suddenly called everyone to attention. "I will now perform the Sending" she said gently. "I know you have lost loved ones today. I know that your city is in ruins. But please…try to give thanks to the gods that you're _alive._ For many of you cannot say that now."

The surviving inhabitants of Kornos Port felt their anger fade, and their bitterness dull. The young woman's words took the bitter sting out of their grief and left only the dull ache of loss.

Yuna began to dance. She danced, intricate patterns, her booted feet barely touching the ground. All the while she waved her staff in the same intricate, almost impossible shapes.

Shiava felt a warm breeze blow out of nowhere. It didn't seem to come from an particular direction, just _somewhere. _He felt a feeling of peace steal over him. Then, pyreflies began to fill the air. The small colored lights, only as big as tennis balls floated around in the air. They swirled in rhythm to the young summoner's staff. Then, Shiava heard voices, voices of men women and children. They seemed to be saying many things at once and the voices became a confused garble in his ears. But he saw the inhabitants of Kornos begin to cry out. Some in sadness, some in joy. Shiava realized suddenly that every person present could hear the voice of his or her lost loved one. Parents heard children, lovers heard one another's last goodbyes.

As Yuna danced, tears slowly leaked out of her blue and green eyes, making small spots on the ground. At last she stopped. The warm breeze faded away to the chill of early evening. But the feeling of peace persisted. The survivors could not forget the horrible thing that had happened to their once beautiful city, but they could bury the dead and get on with their lives in peace.


	17. Racism

Racism

It wasn't until the next day that the feeling of peace began to wear thin. The group had woke up the next day feeling sad. It wasn't easy to sleep in a wrecked city. If you found any place to sleep it was often uncomfortable. If you found a comfortable place to sleep (and this was the case with Yuna and her guardians) you felt horribly guilty for taking something that could have been used for someone who needed it more. They had found lodgings in the mayor's house. It was at the back of the city, away from the devastation. In this section of the city almost everything was untouched by the attack. It was a wealthy section, and it looked like it. Shiava couldn't believe the size of some of the houses there. They were almost as grand as the country estates of aristocrats of Yevon.

"What do we do?" Tidus asked. "I mean…we can't really do anything here. Let's just go visit Lulu's friend and get out of here."

"I know what you mean" said Wakka. "Just being here makes me sad, ya?"

* * *

Shiava woke up that morning in a quandary of thought. He wasn't sure what to think anymore. Arenna had destroyed almost the entire city. She had slaughtered hundreds innocents. Was she truly lost? Had Sin completely consumed every last bit of human personality? He had also begun thinking about the subject he had forbidden himself to think about so far---Arnis. What in the name of the gods was Arnis doing right now? Shiava had no doubt that Arnis would be plotting to instate the cycle of Sin permanently on Spira. Shiava remembered, with a shudder, Arnis' plans for Yuna and her guardians. Whatever betrayal Shiava was committing, it was nothing compared to the heinous machinations of his former best friend.

"Shiava, what are you doing?"

Shiava jumped to see Lulu staring at him strangely.

"Was I doing anything weird?" Shiava asked.

"No…it's just…you were staring into space with the most intense expression on your face…" the sorceress answered. She abruptly changed the subject. "Wakka, me and Rikku are going to a restaurant for breakfast. Do you want to come along?"

"Sure" answered Shiava. His stomach was growling in anger at not being fed the previous day.

"Alright, we're leaving in twenty minutes."

Shiava checked his watch. The digital clock said seven o' five.

* * *

In twenty minutes, Wakka, Lulu, Rikku, and Shiava were walking around the neighborhood to find a suitable place to eat. Soon they found a nice place, the Angel Feather. As they entered, they saw that the place was very pretty.

"Can I help you?" said a voice. A waitress walked over to them.

Soon they were seated. After finishing their breakfast, they went to walk out of the Angel Feather. Suddenly a voice called out to them.

"Hey! Lulu is that you?" An old man in a blue robe was making his way to them. With him were two strong looking young men in armor. They appeared to be only a few years older than Shiava.

Lulu gasped. "Good gods! Dulac?!"

The sorcerer whom they had been looking for smiled at them. "So my old student has chosen the noble work of being the guardian of a summoner." He walked a bit closer. As he drew near, Shiava saw that the sapphire blue of his robes had real gold sewn into the fabric. The sorcerer frowned suddenly. He looked at Rikku up and down. "So" he said, his wrinkled lips curling in distaste, "you brought a desert rat along with you?"

Wakka gasped. Shiava gritted his teeth. Rikku clenched her fists. Lulu just stood, her mouth open. Calling an Al Bhed a "desert rat" was about the most racist thing one could say to them. Not even Wakka, at the height of his hatred for Al Bhed could bring himself to say that.

The two men chuckled.

"Who the heck are you?" Shiava demanded.

"I'm Jake" said one. "I'm Calvin" said the other. The one introduced as Jake stepped forward. "We're Dulac's sons. You got a problem with our father's feelings for desert rats, ghoul?"

Shiava took a deep breath. "I am a sword mage. Not a 'ghoul'."

Wakka, on the other hand was livid. "You got a lotta nerve talkin' to one a' Yuna's guardians like that!" he fumed.

Lulu stepped forward. She looked at Dulac in surprise. "Master Dulac" she said, "how could you say such things? I always thought that you were a kind tolerant man."

The sorcerer seemed unruffled by his former pupil's questions. "I am a kind and tolerant man, if I do say so myself. I simply cannot allow filthy Al Bhed slime who do not recognize the Holy State of Yevon."

"That doesn't give you the right to call them insulting names!" Shiava burst out.

Dulac's son Calvin burst out laughing. We can call them whatever the hell we like! Don't try to boss us around freak; we've got connections in Bevelle."

"I don't give a damn what connections you've got in the capital. I bet you couldn't take a Firstblade."

The two laughed. They drew their swords. Shiava drew his.

"Wait now" said Dulac. "Do you really want to fight us?"

"Yes we do" said Lulu firmly. "I don't want to, and I know it probably won't change your principals, but…" she looked down for a moment. "It will give me some satisfaction to see you beaten by those who associate with Al Bhed!"

Dulac wasted no time in attacking. The elderly sorcerer concentrated and waved his hand. Suddenly Shiava screamed, as a blast of sandy colored energy enveloped him, sending him sprawling. He then waved his hand again. A blue, honeycomb like shield formed around him and his sons. It was a Protect spell, softening the effects of physical blows.

Wakka threw his spiked blitzball at Jake's head. It hit, but only lightly. The warrior laughed and slashed at Wakka with his sword. Wakka dodged, but was cut badly. He fell, knocked out by his injury. Shiava lunged at Calvin, but suddenly he felt confused. He saw Dulac waving his arms again, but he was dizzy and couldn't figure out who was friend of foe. _"A Confusion spell" _Shiava thought dimly. From the little he knew of magic, it would wear off in about ten minutes. But, in a fight like this, one might not have ten minutes to gather their wits.

Dulac went to cast another spell. Suddenly, Rikku pulled out a grenade. Before Shiava could stop her, the Al Bhed girl had flung it at the elderly sorcerer. It exploded with a cloud of purple smoke.

Dulac went to use another spell. Wakka, Shiava, and Lulu flinched. Nothing happened. Dulac fumed in rage.

Rikku was triumphant. "Ha! I used a Silence Grenade to cancel out your spell use!"

Dulac opened his mouth and let out a string of curses---which no one could hear because he was now temporarily mute.

Rikku then rushed past Jake. When she was past him, she held up her hand. In both hands she held small Healing Potions. These were for healing injuries.

"You little sneak! You picked our pockets!" yelled the angry warrior. Shiava's sword caught him in the chest. It would have gone quite badly for Jake if the Protect spell hadn't been there to soften the blow. As it was, the arrogant warrior staggered back, winded and badly scratched.

Shiava swore, and dodged a second hit from Calvin. Lulu raised her hand and a ball of darkness pressed down on Dulac and his sons. They staggered to the ground, with cries of pain and surprise.

"That was my Demi spell. I hope you liked it" said Lulu smugly. "That was one of the first spells you taught me, Master Dulac."

Calvin suddenly slashed Lulu in the back. The sword cut deeply, and Lulu fell in a pool of blood. Rikku suddenly ran over and poured the contents of a potion down the throat of the wounded wizardess.

"Thank…thank you Rikku" said Lulu weakly.

Rikku looked at Dulac, Calvin, and Jake. There was murder in her eyes. She waved her hand back and forth. A cylindrical cone of light flashed around all of them.

Dulac suddenly gasped. "A Dispel magic spell! You took away my Protect! Not only that, but you stole those potions from my son! How could a little desert rat whelp like you get such training in thievery and magic?"

Rikku's face was lit with fierce pride. "My dad taught me! That's how I got my skills. And I make my own, special grenades. Like this!" Rikku suddenly began pouring the liquid contents of two grenades into one shell. She hurled it at them. Still struggling from the effects of Demi, Dulac and co. weren't quick to escape. The grenade exploded in blood red smoke.

Horrible screams resounded from inside the crimson cloud. When it cleared, Calvin and Jake were on the ground, writhing in pain. Whatever Rikku had done, had poisoned them. They tried to attack, but fell back moaning. Even if they had succeeded in trying to attack it wouldn't have helped much. All three were as blind as bats from some other agent in the grenade. Dulac wandered around in a blind fog bumping into Calvin and Jake. They all fell in a heap.

"Yeah, Baby!" Shiava ran at the heap, his sword drawn. He was just going to bring it down, when a large black blade blocked his. Shiava looked up. Holding the sword was a _very_ angry Auron.

"What in the name of the gods do you think you're doing?!" the legendary guardian demanded. "Do you realize who you're attacking?"

"Oh we realize it" said Shiava. He didn't understand why Auron was making such a big deal out of attacking Lulu's old teacher. Sure, the guy was old, and sure was Lulu's teacher, but it wasn't _that _big a deal.

"Dulac Stevenson is a large supporter of Grand Measter Maleficent. He has ties with the high authorities in Spira. He, and his sons, could make your life very difficult if they chose to."

Shiava looked at the moaning heap. "They don't seem too anxious to do that just about now." He turned to Rikku, who was helping Wakka up, and giving him some healing potions. "What the heck did you _do _to those bastards?"

Rikku grinned impishly. It's a secret! I used a mixture of stuff from my grenades. I like experimenting with different chemicals, to see what they do. They can be _very_ useful sometimes" she said, eyeing Dulac and his two jerky sons, who were now all comatose.

Shiava laughed, and put a hand over his face. "Great" he chuckled "Just what we need, a chemical weapons expert."

"We gotta do something about them!" said Wakka worriedly. He was afraid of the political and physical retribution Dulac might inflict.

Lulu had lost all respect for her former teacher. "Oh, just let him lie there" she said bitterly "everyone's too busy cleaning up and burying the dead to notice. It's just an unfortunate accident that this wealthy suburb was spared."

* * *

As they went back to the mayor's house to tell the others what had happened, Auron stopped Shiava. "Have you told them yet? I would have thought the suffering you saw yesterday would move anyone."

Shiva stared back at him defiantly, his violet eyes dark. "That may be, but my resolve on my course of action is like iron. I won't waver."

Auron looked at him almost admiringly. "Your determination is admirable. If only it were focused on a more honest goal. Like saving Spira. Instead it is focused on your own selfish goals."

"We can still free Arenna and save Spira!" protested Shiava indignantly.

Auron turned his back to Shiava and was silent for a long while. "Do you know what Arenna wants you to do? The reason she has probed your consciousness time and time again?" he stopped and stared out at the distant water. It shone in the late morning sunlight. When he spoke his voice was as cold and dead as the grave. "Arenna wants you to kill her."

Shiava couldn't speak, he was so angry. He couldn't believe that the honorable Sir Auron was resorting to tactics like these to get him to confess and join the bandwagon to save Spira from Sin. "You bastard…I can't believe you're going to give me that crap, and expect me to think it's true! Arenna loved life! She might have had a few problems but she was never suicidal! You don't know her at all! You just want to trick me into confessing and---"

"Look into your soul and you will know it is true." Auron still had his back to him. "I can talk to Sin. So can you. I can speak with the beast because, when my best friend, Jecht was consumed by it, he used the last of his free will to plead with me to raise his son. Then he succumbed, and Sin consumed his humanity. I could still talk to it sometimes, back then. I could still detect traces of the Jecht I knew. Arenna used the last of her humanity to get you out of Bevelle." Auron's voice suddenly became impatient. "Arenna wanted you to have a shot at life. You were going to die by the hands of Yevon. She attacked Bevelle and stopped them." He sighed. "That was the act of a lover to another." He pointed to the sea, which could be seen because the buildings for miles had been flattened. "This was the act of a monster." He sighed again. "You are actually better at communicating with Sin than I am. You are a sword mage, and Arenna is your lover. These are more reasons than I have." He began to walk away, never looking at Shiava. "Arenna wants to end the suffering. Hers, Spira's. Imagine if you will, being forced to end lives, day in day out, destroying, killing, never sleeping…with only your miserable regrets and thoughts to keep you company." Suddenly he turned to Shiava, and the former Firstblade was surprised to glimpse compassion behind the sunglasses. "It is something you must decide on your own, as I said before. My promise still stands. I will not tell the others." Then he was gone.

Shiava stood looking at the sky for half an hour after that, just doing nothing. Nothing that is, but looking into his own soul.


	18. Feeling Genocidal?

Feeling Genocidal?

Arnis flipped through the pages of yet another ancient tome. The dust covered pages crackled as they turned. He shut the book with a sigh. It was all he could do not to scream in rage. All the books about Sin he had searched through had said nothing about how to defeat the monster, except the Final Aeon. It had not been common knowledge then that using the Final Aeon caused Sin to be reborn. He needed information on how to defeat the monster. He needed to know the strategy that Yuna and her guardians would most likely take. That way he could successfully counteract it. There was also another thing that was annoying him. At the end of every book, there was the phrase "_And we hope that the gods will have mercy and the world will be released from its suffering." _The ungratefulness of people! How dare they ask the gods to remove the blessing that Spira needed to keep its balance? He sighed. There he was, going of on some unimportant point again. People were ignorant, but that would change. He was enlightened and he would do the same for all of Spira, then he could rest peacefully in the Farplane. Arnis smiled. Almost no one else knew he had died. He could actually count on his fingers the people who knew. There was Shilinda for one; she had discovered his body, which they had later burned. There was Maleficent, and Measter Andrick. And Measter Estarce.

Suddenly a servant appeared in the library door. He hurried through the Grand Library. People made way for him to go through. As he stood in front of Arnis, he realized that this was the same servant who had gotten him before. "Grand Measter Maleficent wishes to call a meeting in the Dayroom of Yevon."

Arnis nodded. The Dayroom of Yevon was a room in which the Grand Measter held meetings of state with the other measters. The room was magical, and changed to suit every new Grand Measter. Some said that it matched the soul of the person. "I'll be there."

Arnis followed the servant down the hallways of the Palace. Arnis wondered what developments Maleficent had. In her last meeting, the Grand Measter had said that she needed more information on the soul Sin had chosen. Arnis could have easily given that information of course, but he preferred to keep Maleficent guessing for a while. It gave him time to formulate his own plans, which were piggybacked onto Maleficent's. Besides it was fun to watch Maleficent sending out her minions and servants to find out, as inconspicuously as possible, who on Spira could have become Sin.

* * *

As Arnis entered the Dayroom of Yevon, he was shocked at how it had changed. Before, in the late Measter Mika's time, it had been a massive, sunny room with whole walls of glass. Plants had grown on the other walls, and others were in pots on various small tables. Now it was a place of darkness. The room had grown even bigger, to the size of half a cathedral. The walls were made of black obsidian, and patterns of red veined the walls. A large white table stood in the middle of the room. It was lit with small white bowls containing bluish fire. As to how the fire kept burning was a mystery, as there was nothing in the bowls. A large, thorny vine grew along one wall. It was huge, bigger than two Ronso standing on top of one another. The vine was black, just like the rest of the place. No flowers grew on its thorny, veined surface. Magic was the only justification for this entire scene. But, as to who's magic it was that had done this, the Dayroom's or Maleficent's, or a bizarre mixture of both was a mystery. All three measters sat at the table. Maleficent, Andrick, and Estarce.

"Welcome, Firstblade General Arnis" said Maleficent. She gestured to a chair near Measter Andrick.

Arnis looked at Measter Estarce as he sat down. The elderly Ronso looked more stooped than ever, and it seemed that the lines in his face and the gray in his blue fur were more pronounced than ever. He seemed to be worrying desperately about something. Finally he spoke. "As senior measter, and as a member of the Council, I have called this meeting to discuss a proposition that Her Grace, Grand Measter Maleficent has made to Measter Andrick, and myself." He stopped for a moment. Arnis' figurative antennae immediately went up. Something was very, very wrong here. Why would the measters call the Firstblade General into one of their meetings? The Firstblade General was head of the Firstblade order, and head of the military, but that didn't mean being invited to a State meeting.

Measter Estarce continued again, this time his deep voice breaking with anger. "Her Grace…Her Grace has proposed the extermination of the Al Bhed race!"

There was a deathly silence. Arnis was the first to speak. "And what would be the point of such a drastic venture?"

Maleficent smiled thinly. "The Al Bhed have bothered my government with their wretched insurrection long enough. Perhaps, in the past, the Al Bhed have taken advantage of the tolerance of Yevon for their 'state'. But now my patience with them had come to an end. The miserable fools flout their 'independence' from the rest of the world. This world is unified under the State of Yevon! There haven't been separate countries in a thousand and two years, since Sin was cast down upon us!"

Unable to contain himself any longer, Measter Estarce leaped to his feet. "What you are proposing is insanity! Genocide is _not _the way to deal with the Al Bhed. We must reason with---"

Maleficent cut him off with a wave of her hand. I have had enough of this ridiculous conversation! What will happen will happen! Now, I need a signature from two measters. I will provide the first." She turned to Measter Andrick. "Will you provide the second Andrick?"

"Yes" said Andrick without hesitation.

Measter Estarce leapt to his feet. His anger shimmering around him, it was difficult to think he was as old as he was. "I never thought that Yevon would come to this!" he hissed. "We Ronso have a saying 'Everything is the creation of the gods, the land and sky, and all under the sun'. It means that all is the creation of the gods! What right do we have to take their lives away? I withdraw from the council. I also renounce my title as measter. I will not be party to such senseless bloodshed. I will only remain here to make my resignation official. Then I will go back to Mt. Gazett. You may sit around with your smug looks and say 'look at the idiot walking away, good riddance!' but all of us have to die sometime, and when I face Puppet, god of death, at least I can go unashamed. Remember that." He looked pointedly at Arnis. "Some of us though, don't need to worry about Puppet." Then his voice changed. "You are the head of the military" he said to Arnis. "It is your decision whether or not to go through with this madness. I beg you not to!"

Arnis was silent. He thought about the few Al Bhed he had seen during his brief lifetime. He thought about their main city the Home in the Bikanel Desert. He thought about the men women and children. Then, unbidden another thought occurred to him. An airship, a powerful Al Bhed airship, equipped with missiles and the latest weapons technology. _That _was what had helped Lady Yuna and her guardians bring down Great Sin the first time. He could not allow it to happen again. "No" said Arnis. "I agree exactly with Her Grace. The Al Bhed must be exterminated for the good of Spira."

Measter Estarce's response was completely unexpected. He stared calmly and coldly at Arnis, looking into Arnis' green eyes. "Very well. I should have expected this." He turned to Maleficent and Andrick. "Watch this one Maleficent" he said. "Although it would be satisfying to watch your own trained dogs bite you" without another word, he left the Dayroom.

After he left, Maleficent sighed. "Now that _he's_ gone, we need to get a strategy figured out. I told you that the Ronso seem to have this 'honor to the world' philosophy." She smiled coldly. "I need the Al Bhed out of the way if we are to prevent Yuna and her guardians from defeating Sin. There is also the added benefit of wiping out their state and resulting insurrection."

"My thoughts exactly" said Arnis. They had the same thoughts for completely different reasons of course, but the effect was the same. The Al Bhed would die.

Maleficent rose from the table. She walked over to the vine on the wall, her staff making a _clunk, clunk_ on the ground as she went. Maleficent caressed the vine. "The Al Bhed will learn the hard way that I will be the mistress of Life on Spira" she stroked the vine again, and it burst into beautiful flowers. Maleficent's face hardened. "And the mistress of Death for those who do not follow my commands" the sorceress/measter stroked the plant again. Instantly it withered, its leaves and flowers turning black and crumbling onto the obsidian floor.

"Impressive" said Measter Andrick in wonder. "I never realized the power of Darkness that you call upon."

"Quite. Now, Arnis I need a strategy from you in a week's time to figure out how to raid the Bikanel Desert and wipe out the cities of the Al Bhed. The final and prime target is their main city, the Home." She turned away. "That is all. I will call you again if I have any other plans."

"I have one" said Arnis suddenly, surprising everyone. He stepped forward. "Lady Yuna and her guardians will simply find another way around the genocide of the Al Bhed. They still stand a chance of defeating Grea---Sin and ruining our plan. However, if Yuna isn't there to lead them, they are simply a headless mob of fools. Especially one fool in particular." This last part was muttered so no one heard it.

"Good idea. But how do we take out Yuna? Assassinate her?" asked Measter Andrick.

"Good question" responded Arnis. "We will kidnap Lady Yuna, to use the crude word. Once in Bevelle, she will fall madly in love with me…and end her pilgrimage across Spira, for the sake of true love."

Andrick stared. Even Maleficent looked surprised. "Ha! How do you propose to do that?" scoffed Measter Andrick.

Arnis was unruffled. "You know as well as I do that Yuna's attention is grounded on one of her guardians, Tidus. She could never love me. I don't want her love. We must simply keep up the illusion to the masses that she is my paramour."

Maleficent and Andrick agreed that it was a good idea. "You are dismissed" said Maleficent.

As Arnis strode down the hallways, a smile spread across his face. The first phase of his plan was complete. It was all coming together…it always did.


	19. Sin's Progeny

Sin's progeny

On the ruined island city of Kornos Port, Shiava and his "friends" remained blissfully unaware of the cancerous evil at the heart of Yevon.

"You did _what_?!" asked Yuna when they explained what had happened. "You assaulted someone with connections to Bevelle?"

"Yep" said Rikku proudly. "We made him wish he he'd never called me a desert rat!"

Yuna sat down with her head in her hands. "I'm trying to make friends not enemies." She looked very serious. She also looked more pale and drawn than anyone had ever seen her. "You know I'm not one to usually care about politics, but politically I'm on _really _thin ice. I'm a 'High Summoner' yet I never defeated Sin. As hard as this is to believe, when we first defeated it, we had enemies for not using the conventional method. Now it's worse because I didn't really beat it."

"I…I never thought a summoner had to deal with politics" said Shiava.

"Now my guardians attack someone with connections…" said Yuna.

Lulu, Wakka, Shiava, and Rikku apologized.

"It's alright. We're going to leave Kornos in another day" said Yuna. "Then we'll go to the Moonflow River. After that we'll go to Guadosolam, the home of the Guado. After we cross the Thunder Plains we'll go to Macalania woods. After that…" she paused. "We'll be in Bikanel Desert to see Uncle Cid, and get his help beating Sin!"

Shiava suddenly thought of something. "Ah, Lady Yuna, do people not like you because you're...half Al Bhed?"

Yuna smiled. "Just call me Yuna. No, my Al Bhed heritage doesn't show that much. Besides, I don't think people would care."

"We should be going" said Auron. He had not spoken to Shiava since their conversation that morning.

"Well what do you want us to do to pass the time?" asked Tidus. He was tired of practicing blitzball with Wakka. "Let's just walk around the city" he said.

So it was decided. The party wandered around the broken ruins of Kornos. Shiava was lost in his thoughts, when Tidus shouted. A doglike creature leaped out behind a pile of ruins. It was followed by a purple and green plantlike monster with two vine like tentacles.

"Oh shit" said Shiava. A Gar, a doglike fiend and worse, an Ochu a plant fiend. Gars were annoying. Ochu had the potential to be deadly. Kimhari, Lulu and Shiava took on the monsters.

"I guess Yuna's Sending didn't cover as much ground as we thought" said Lulu as she destroyed the Gar with a blast of magical fire.

The Ochu was a lot harder. Shiava leaped forward, and slashed it with his sword. It hit, but the fiend's thick, plantlike hide repelled most of the blow.

Kimhari stepped forward. The Ronso warrior held a finger before his face. Suddenly Shiava heard a small voice in his head. _Ochu: Poisons its enemies with its toxic tentacles. Very weak against fire. _

"What was that?" Shiava asked, hastily avoiding the tentacles.

"Kimhari's Scan ability. He can find the weakness and information of every person or fiend we come across. It's been very useful in our journey."

She raised her hand again. A ball of fire engulfed the Ochu. After two hits of this treatment it was dead, vanishing in a cloud of pyreflies.

Yuna was upset after this incident. "I thought that _all_ of the souls of the dead had moved on" she sighed. "I didn't want there to be fiends wandering the city. Besides, they should rest."

As they wandered the city they could see the stars clearly in the sky. Shiava wondered were Arenna was, and if she could see the stars. He sighed. He hoped she wasn't destroying anything else. He also thought about what Auron had told him. He closed his eyes. He couldn't bear to kill his girlfriend. Arenna and him had been friends for years and she had come to mean as much as life itself to him. He wouldn't, _couldn't _do what Auron had said.

Suddenly a piercing scream split the air. It came from the center of the city. "HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE! HELP US!!!"

* * *

The party ran toward the city square. The sight that met their eyes was like a bad dream. In the middle of the square, Calvin stood in a pool of blood. His right arm hung limply by his side, and he clutched his sword in his shaking left hand. His armor was dented and, in some places completely torn off. His face was covered with blood and bruises like he had been whipped. He had also been poisoned. They could tell by the cries of pain he uttered as the poison coursed through his body. He stood protectively over his brother Jake and his father Dulac, both who were unconscious and covered with similar injuries. What really commanded their attention though, was the monster that he was fighting. The creature was a sickly green color. Its great arms ended in a myriad of whip like tentacles. Hard, slivery appendages grew out of its back. It seemed to have large, thick roots instead of feet. Its mouth was thin and cruel looking.

Shiava could hardly believe it. He knew what this monster was. Flashes of the creature he and Auron had fought in Bevelle came to him. It was a Sinspawn. It was different from the Bevelle one, but it was Sin's progeny all the same.

"By all the gods" breathed Lulu. "We have to help them!" She started forward.

"Stop!" yelled Auron. "We must think the situation through. Charging in without a plan is just as deadly as if we had no weapons at all."

"We can't just let them die!" protested Tidus. He drew Brotherhood, and began to walk forward as well.

Kimhari, silent as usual, picked up his spear and began to walk forward as well. Soon Lulu, Kimhari, and Tidus were too far away to hear Auron's remonstrations.

Auron turned to the rest of them. "Get ready to back them up!" he yelled. The group ran forward.

Th…thank the…gods you're here…" Calvin said before collapsing.

Shiava went and felt his heartbeat. It was faint and erratic. "Yuna!" he yelled. "Give him some first aid magic!"

The summoner rushed over. "Heal" she whispered, as blue light washed over the unconscious warrior's body, healing his injuries.

Suddenly Calvin jerked in pain. "He's still poisoned" said Rikku. She took something from her belt. It was a clear glass bottle filled with pink liquid. "Drink up" she said, as she none-to-gently poured its contents down his throat. His twitching stopped almost instantly.

"What was that?" asked Shiava.

"An antidote to all poisons" Rikku answered. "You can buy them all the time you know." She looked surprised. "For a Firstblade you really don't know much about healing items do you?"

"No…I guess I don't. I was always more interested in attacking."

There was no more time to banter, however. Tidus, Lulu and Kimhari had reached the Sinspawn. Kimhari used his Scan again. Lulu and Tidus prepared as the little voice Kimhari had summoned told them what they needed to know. _Sinspawn: Melgeller. Attacks with its whip like tentacles, and spews deadly poison. __**Very **__adverse to fire. _

"Great!" said Tidus. He ran at it. Melgeller gave a horrid shriek and whacked out with a tentacle. Tidus dodged, and slashed the main body. Brotherhood's hooked end tore a gash in the monster. Green liquid spattered the cobblestones, and the monster reared back in pain. The Sinspawn suddenly lashed out with both of its tentacled arms.

"UMPH!" said Kimhari as he went flying back. "AAAHH" said Lulu. She tried to concentrate on her magic under the rain of stinging blows, but it was no use. Lulu felt blackness overtake her and she fainted.

"LU!" shouted Wakka.

Kimhari slashed the monster again. It howled in anger and pain. Suddenly Melgeller began to shrink in on itself. "Something's happening!" shouted Tidus. The silvery appendages growing out of the back closed over the body. In seconds, the entire body was incased in a silvery shell.

"Everyone get back!" Yuna rushed forward. Wakka and Auron helped Lulu off the battlefield. Yuna turned her staff around. Three lines of fire split the cobblestones around her. Suddenly the ground split open to reveal a creature that looked like a cross between a dog and a human. It was completely wreathed in fire. It was the Ifrit another aeon. Its claws dug into the ground. Suddenly it shot a pure ball of fire from its hand. It tore through the shell. Melgeller uttered a horrid shriek. The shell blew apart in a million burning fragments. The Ifrit leaped forward and began attacking the badly burned Sinspawn with its claws and teeth. Soon the only thing left of Sinspawn: Melgeller was a few hunks of green flesh and a horribly savaged body. It lay in a lake of green blood. Yuna waved her staff again. The Ifrit vanished in a blinding flash of flame.

"That was…amazing!" said Shiava. "I've never seen anything like that!"

"You wouldn't" said Auron. "A summoner's aeons are some of the most destructive forces on the planet." He turned away to help tend to Dulac and his sons. They were recovering with the help of Yuna's healing and, ironically, Rikku's concoctions.

"Wha…what is…happening?' asked Dulac when he came to.

"Don't talk Teacher" said Lulu. "You've been through a lot. You were attacked by a Sinspawn."

Dulac's eyes suddenly popped open. "Yes! The abomination! Where is it?" he looked around fearfully.

"Don't worry. We got it" said Shiava.

The old sorcerer's eyes narrowed. "Oh, it's you, you young miscreant" he snapped.

Tidus walked over, cleaning Brotherhood's bright blue blade. "Is that any way to talk to people who helped save your life? Not only yours but the lives of your sons?"

Dulac looked away from Shiava's violet eyes. "I…I'm sorry. I was horrible back there with you and your friends. I deserved what happened to me." He looked at Rikku who was administering treatment to Calvin and Jake. "That girl…she has made me reconsider my opinions about Al Bhed. I might even…I might even visit the Home someday and see if I can learn more about their culture."

As they departed Lulu looked at Dulac. "I'm sorry about what I said back there."

Dulac smiled. "We were all hasty with our words out there. What's better is that we _learned _from these mistakes." He turned to his sons. "Isn't that right?" he asked. They responded with sullen grunts. Dulac looked at the group apologetically. "Calvin and Jake are young" he said. "They will have time to change. Good luck on your quest!"

The next morning, the party took a ship at the ruined wharf. The people had managed to slightly rebuild the great port. One section was almost half finished. The ship the _S.S. Seabird _was stopped a few feet away from the wreckage. The seven guardians and their summoner had to wade a little before getting on the gangplank. The captain apologized profusely for what he considered a "slur on the dignity of the High Summoner."

The trip was relatively uneventful. Rikku thought of a few new practical jokes, including super gluing Auron's sword to the wall of his cabin. The legendary guardian was _not _amused. Rikku's practical joking got annoying after a while. Unlike the trip to Kornos Port, the trip took three days. After three days of waking up with egg on his face, having his hair dyed red for two of those days ("It looks boring being all white!") and having hot sauce subtly put into his pancakes, Shiava literally threw himself off the ship when they docked at the Moonflow port.

"Thank the gods!" he yelled as he walked across the dock.

"Now Shiava, it wasn't that bad" said Lulu with more than a hint of humor in her voice.

"You try having her prank you into oblivion!"

Despite his terrible secret, Shiava was unconsciously becoming more and more one of Yuna's guardians. He began to accept Lulu's strict ways, he learned to somewhat endure Rikku's pranks, he was less reverent of Yuna and more comfortable around her, he thought that Kimhari had accomplished a lot for someone who only knew limited English, he didn't think Wakka was annoying for talking about blitzball all the time, and he had actually become friends with Tidus, who wanted to know what it was like living in Bevelle, and being a Firstblade. As they walked through the sunlit forest on the way to Guadosolam, the two lingered behind the group talking.

"So you have to everything the measters tell you to do?"

"Yeah, I mean we _are _'the elite order of Yevon'. We do what they tell us, even die for them."

"And all you get is a red handled sword?" Tidus frowned. "Sounds like a crappy deal to me."

"I guess." Shiava didn't know what to say to that. He was no longer a Firstblade anyway, so it didn't really matter, but he was still intrigued by the older boy's opinion of the Firstblade Order.

Tidus abruptly changed the subject. "Do you have a girlfriend?" he asked. "I know it sounds horrible, but I just was dying to ask you that."

Shiava frowned. I…I _did _have a girlfriend. But she…she…got _taken into the light._"

"What the heck does that mean?"

Shiava wasn't really sure himself. It had just come out. "It…it…uh, it means she got taken to be trained as a cleric of Erth. They call it 'taken into the light'. You know Erth's the creator, the god of light. So the clerics call it that when someone is…uh, taken into their order."

"_Okaaaaaayyy" _said Tidus. "That's just weird. I can't believe they use a dinky term like that when someone becomes a priest."

Suddenly the group came to a halt. As Shiava looked up, he saw that the trees had come to an end. Huge gates made of the purest jade blocked their way. They had reached Guadosolam.


	20. The Afterlife

The Afterlife

"So this is Guadosolam" said Shiava was they entered the gates. The Guado homeland was _very _strange looking, and even more depressing. It wasn't exactly the Guado themselves, although that would be one's first conclusion. The Guado were tall and thin. They had pale greenish tinted skin and green hair. Their ears were very pointed. In addition, the nails of the average Guado were over six inches long and green as well. Their behavior though was the strangest. It was as if the life of every Guado was depressing from the beginning. They spoke in deep mournful voices. There were no children playing in the streets, and to say the least, there were actually very few children. These were just as sad looking as their parents.

"I hate this place" said Tidus, ever the diplomat.

"Silence. Perhaps the Guado do not find human lands very becoming" said Auron.

"Kimhari agree with Tidus" said Kimhari suddenly. "Sad all over" he said. Then the Ronso warrior was silent again.

"Well, we're not going to stay here for long" said Yuna. "We are only here to get supplies, and then…then we will visit the Farplane."

_"What did you just say?!" _Shiava said.

"I said…we are going to visit the Farplane" said Yuna.

Shiava was dumbfounded. "But…but the Farplane is…is the…it's the afterlife!"

Rikku turned to Shiava, her usually cheerful face serious looking. "It's a little known fact, but the Guado have a gateway into the Farplane. If you want, you can visit people who have passed away. You can see their spirits. You can't talk to them though, they can't hear you."

"C'mon we gotta get going, ya?" said Wakka. Rikku and Shiava followed him quickly.

* * *

Soon they were walking to a blue bridge. Shiava noticed that it was lined with names of deceased people. The names were carved into the blue stone. "They carve the bridge with the names of dead people" said Shiava.

"How'd you know that?" asked Wakka.

"The bridge told me" Shiava answered truthfully. Now he realized why the place was so depressing. To the mind of a sword mage, one who could commune with inanimate objects, this place reeked of death. It permeated every object. It was Guadosalam's nearness to the afterlife that caused this. Only Shiava could sense it, and it was driving him crazy.

As they crossed the bridge, they came to an awe inspiring site. An ornate gate stood in the middle of a cleared space. The gate was circular and made of blue crystal, just like the bridge .There were marble steps leading up to the circle. People entered the gate and disappeared into it. Pyreflies were everywhere. A few Guado were standing on the steps. The entire place had an air of reverence to it.

One of the Guado stepped forward. He was tall and thin, like all of his kind, and he had an air about him that made the other inhabitants of Guadosolam look like wild people who enjoyed life. "I am Arthur, keeper of the Mortuary Gate" he said in a deep mournful voice. "I will guide you into the realm of Erth, so that you may visit the spirits of those you loved."

Arthur led them up into the gate. As Shiava got close to it, he felt the same warm breeze he had felt during Yuna's Sending. The same feeling of peace began to envelop him in its warm embrace. They stepped through the gate. They found themselves in a long pathway. It led up to a large crystalline membrane. It pulsed with a blue glow. Wordlessly, the party filed in.

* * *

If the sight of the Mortuary Gate had been awe inspiring, it was nothing compared to the Farplane. **This** was the afterlife. From the mortal world, one could view the paradise that lay beyond death. The entire place was like a stone overlook. A large railing circled the whole balcony. The way through which they had come was gone. Looking over, they saw the Farplane. A beautiful blue sky, bluer than the clearest day on Spira shone down on them. A mighty river flowed over dazzling waterfalls. They could hear the roar of the water. The green of grass and the colors of flowers were all so beautiful that it brought tears to their eyes. They could also see buildings in the distance; buildings that made the Palace of St. Bevelle look like a peasant's hovel. It was a beauty beyond imagining. No one, no matter how many times they had been to Guadosolam and the Farplane, was used to the beauty.

"I…I never…" was all Shiava could say. He was silenced by all that was around him. The place was also sad in a way, but it was not the suffocating depression of Guadosolam, but the quiet sadness of leaving loved ones. He wondered then, if he would see anyone he knew. No one he knew had died. Even Arnis hadn't gone to the Farplane. In Shiava's opinion it was almost pointless to visit here. They might be able to _see_ the afterlife, but it was physically beyond them. He looked at the others. Yuna was staring at a man and a woman in white robes. Shiava realized that they must have been her parents. Rikku was looking sadly at an Al Bhed woman who looked a lot like her. Wakka stared at a person who could only be his little brother. Auron wasn't looking at anything. Lulu was looking at a woman dressed in white and red robes. She had her hair done up in a bun. Kimhari was looking away from two elderly Ronso. Tidus was looking at a pretty woman with brown hair, and a tall muscular and very wild looking man with shaggy black hair. "I miss you, Mom, Old Man" he said softly.

Finally Yuna spoke. "I…I guess it's time…that we….left the departed to their rest. Come along everyone."

It was a subdued party that left the Farplane. Shiava wished that he could have stayed a bit longer. Just to admire the wonders around him. He sighed. He had to focus on the task at hand. Trick Yuna and her guardians into getting him inside Sin, the way they had gotten into the monster the first time, and then free Arenna. His betrayal would be revealed, but if he planned it right, they would be in no position to argue….


	21. The Soul of Sin

The soul of Sin

"Gods! Look at the time. It's eight o'clock at night! We must have spent hours in the Farplane!" Shiava gasped.

"I guess we'll have to stay in this pit of despair for the night" said Tidus. Auron gave him a dour look.

"Let's just look for an inn" said Lulu.

The sorceress was about to walk off to find one, when a voice echoed through the streets. "Let all mourn the loss! Let all grieve in sorrow for the damned!"

"What in the name of Erth, Darkness, and Keeper is going on?" asked Lulu crabbily.

Auron held up a hand to silence her. "Something is wrong" he said. "The Guado do not have public displays of mourning."

"Then let's find out what's happening!" said Tidus. He began to walk toward the sound of the voice.

"Come back!" shouted Auron. "Why doesn't he ever listen to me?"

A man in the garb of a warrior monk was walking through the streets shouting. His silver armor was covered with ash and dirt, and his grip on his AK-47 was loose. The man looked like he had been traveling for days, and from the hoarseness of his voice he had been shouting this for days too. He was so busy shouting that he didn't notice Tidus, who grabbed him by the breastplate of his silver armor.

"Hey! Let me go!" he shouted.

"Why are you going around, waking people up at this time of night?" asked Lulu severely.

The monk's response was strange. "We have discovered who Sin has chosen!" he said.

Tidus began to shake him. "Who!? Who did Sin choose? Who suffered the same damnation as my old man?!" When the monk didn't answer at first, Tidus shook him even harder. "Answer me, you bastard!"

"Stop shaking him!" yelled Shiava. "Let him talk!"

Tidus made a visible effort to calm down. "Okay" he said, breathing heavily, "tell us what happened."

The soldier of Yevon swallowed. "Th…the details are sketchy, but…but the higher ups are sure that the person Sin has chosen was a girl named Arenna Cedric, the illegitimate daughter of Lord Hugh Cedric, a prominent Yevon official." The man swallowed. "There is evidence to support this. Lady Arenna highly enjoyed a song _Someday. _The song has been known to drive Sin away. Not only in Luca, but several times afterward, Sin seems to have been calmed by the song. 'Music charms the savage beast' as they say."

Shiava swallowed hard. This wasn't good. As long as they didn't know what had happened to make Arenna Sin, they couldn't discover his secret. But the people of Spira were getting closer and closer to the truth. Closer than Shiava liked.

As they got ready for bed in the inn they heard people whispering about the news that the monk had brought from Bevelle.

"What does this mean?" asked Rikku curiously. She seemed to have gotten over her sadness from the Farplane.

"It means that there is someone who became Sin" said Yuna sadly. She frowned suddenly. "Sin is created by the monster forging its body around an unwilling soul. But that can only be accomplished by the Final Aeon technique. I wonder how this happened…"

"Well I'm _really_ tired, so I'm going to turn in for the night. I know we have to get up early in the morning if we want to get across the Thunder Plains and into Macalania Wood by dusk tomorrow" said Shiava hurriedly. However, Shiava got no sleep that night.


	22. Death In The Court

Death in the court

Maleficent was throwing a grand ball for all aristocrats and officials of Yevon that night. Arnis sighed as he dressed in his official Firstblade General's uniform. He really had no interest in petty affairs such as this. Saving Spira from itself was his goal.

Arnis headed through the halls into the Ballroom Hall. It was a huge, beautiful place, filled with light and laughter. Whole walls were nothing but a mixture of clear and stained glass. Men and women in lavish suits and dresses waltzed across the blue crystal floor. The orchestra played on a marble rise slightly elevated from the floor. It was a typical aristocratic party with one exception. The whole court was buzzing about how Maleficent had found out who Sin had chosen. The sorceress/measter hadn't used magic to figure this out. She simply had sent underlings to investigate every lead and mysterious disappearance. Suddenly, a hand tapped him on the shoulder.

"Do you have anyone to dance with?" asked Shilinda. The warrior monk commander was dressed in an elaborate emerald dress. Her brown hair was done up in beaded braids, that Arnis could see had been carved out of emeralds as well. She was looking hopefully at Arnis.

Arnis smiled warmly. "How could I disappoint you? No, I don't have anyone to dance with."

Soon the two of them were waltzing across the floor. Around and around the Firstblade General and the warrior monk commander danced. As they danced they talked. "I must tell you something Shilinda" Arnis said.

"What is that?"

Arnis' smile became serious. "Soon all of your warrior monks and all of my Firstblades will be sent on a mission from the Grand Measter. The extermination of the Al Bhed race."

Shilinda's face became shocked, though she did not look displeased, Arnis noticed. "Why does Her Grace want us to do this? Surely not _all_ of the Council was unanimous on this?"

Arnis smirked. "There were some…complications. His Grace, Measter Estarce was _very_ dug in about not doing it. So much so, that he left the Council of Measters. So now it's just Maleficent, Andrick, and me unofficially."

Her eyes widened. "You?"

"Measters have never asked what their military commanders wanted. But Maleficent is different."

"_Measter _Maleficent" Shilinda said softly.

"What?" Arnis asked.

Shilinda blushed. "Oh, nothing. I just have a thing about people calling the measters by their first names without the proper title."

Arnis laughed. "I can guess that would drive you crazy. I never thought much of it."

They paused in their waltz and went to get refreshments. "Do you want some?" Shilinda asked, passing Arnis a glass of red wine.

"No" said Arnis. "I rarely eat, drink, or even sleep these days."

Shilinda blushed again. "Oh…oh, I'm…I'm sorry." Her face darkened. "After what that…after what Shiava did to you. We have reports that he's with Lady Yuna and her guardians."

Arnis stopped dead, causing Shilinda to almost bump into him. Her glass shattered on the blue crystal floor, causing a puddle of the blood colored liquid to form around the shards. "Shiava is what?" he asked in a piercing whisper.

Shilinda seemed to wish she hadn't said anything. "I…well…he…a male sword mage, white hair, deathly pale, violet eyes, and about seventeen has been seen with the High Summoner. He dresses almost completely in black, except for his belt and two crosses on his jacket. He also caries red handled sword, the kind only Firstblades use."

"That's Shiava alright" Arnis' voice had gone back to its warm tone. His earlier strange behavior might have never been.

"Well I have to see to some other events. I have to get one of my sergeants to tell all the soldiers." She hurried off.

* * *

"Warrior monks have ranks?" Arnis asked to no one in particular. He began to think. So Shiava was with Yuna. He should have known that Shiava would try to trick the High Summoner into freeing Arenna. Arnis smiled. It would take about a week for Shiava and his new "friends" to cross the Bikanel Desert after the other lands they would cover. They would find highly unpleasant awaiting them in the Al Bhed main city, the Home. He would make sure of it.

A sudden voice interrupted Arnis' malevolent thoughts. It was arguing fiercely with someone. The reason it affected Arnis so much was that he recognized the voice. It was Lord Bernick Cedric, Arenna's grandfather. He was arguing with another elderly man, a Guado. Arnis moved closer to hear what they were saying, silently cursing the extravagance of his outfit, which caused him to stick out in the already lavishly dressed crowd of aristocrats and wealthy people. Bernick appeared to be arguing about Arenna.

"_No one_ deserves what happened to Arenna! Especially for something they can't help! You and I have had a lot of strife over the years, Fredin, but I never thought you would say something that horrible."

"I simply said it has to be that the gods are still angry with man for its sinfulness, and Arenna was the perfect person to be chosen by Sin because, to be perfectly blunt, old enemy, she _is_ a product of sin!"

Arnis winced. If Shiava had a problem with people insulting Arenna, Lord Bernick went berserk. Arnis and Shiava had known Arenna's grandfather for a long time, and they had seen him transform from a dignified aristocrat, into a cursing sailor in two seconds under the right circumstances.

Lord Bernick's voice was cold when he responded. "My dear Lord Fredin, I never really hated you until this moment. You seem to forget that the family name of Cedric still commands respect in Yevon, even if it was 'sullied' by Arenna's birth." The way he said "sullied" made it clear what he thought of the term.

The Guado aristocrat, Lord Fredin, gave a small snicker. "Go ahead Bernick. Laugh away. But I know the pain you hide inside. Your son Hugh disappointed you didn't he? Ruined your family name. But, I'm sure the real pain comes from finding out that he hanged himself once he found out that his bastard daughter had become Spira's suffering."

Arnis turned away, not wishing to hear anymore. So Arenna's father was dead. Interesting. Neither he or Shiava had ever met Lord Hugh. It was strange to know that he had died, especially by suicide. Arnis was turning to walk away, when he heard a strangled scream. The scream almost seemed to spread over the entire crowd. It took Arnis a few minutes to realize that the illusion was created by people near the two old men screaming. Arnis turned back to where the argument was coming from.

The sight that met his eyes was interesting, to say the least. Since Arnis and Shiava had known him, Lord Bernick had always carried a plain black staff. It was topped with an ivory ball. Now the ball had turned into an ivory blade two feet long, and Bernick Cedric had used it to slit Lord Fredin open from throat to chest. Blood gushed from the dreadful wound. The Guado aristocrat fell, twitching and gasping to the floor. Women covered their finely dressed children's eyes. Arnis looked on, interested. Everyone knew that no doctor or magical healer could stop such an injury in time. As if to prove this point, Fredin stopped gasping, although he still twitched. Then this stopped as well. Everyone stared in stupefied horror, and stepped away from the ever widening pool of blood.

"What is going on here?" demanded a sharp, cold voice. Maleficent walked toward the crowd. The assembled people gave the Grand Measter wide berth, many making gestures of respect as they moved from her path. Maleficent's cold eyes took in the sight. She looked at Lord Bernick. The former summoner was holding his plain black staff. The blade was still extended. Lord Fredin's blood dripped from it.

"Why did you kill him?" the question was calmly asked.

Lord Bernick sighed. "I have never killed anything or anything before, Your Grace. But Fredin and I have been enemies for forty seven years. He finally crossed over the line of what I can take. I have lost both of the most important treasures in my life, my son and my granddaughter. He mocked that loss, and he paid the consequences."

Maleficent nodded. "Lord Bernick Cedric, you have committed murder in front of hundreds of witnesses. That is a crime worthy of Capital Punishment."

"Execute him! He's the grandfather of Sin!" yelled a province governor. Other voices in the crowd began alternately calling for mercy, or for punishment.

Maleficent silenced them all with a cold glare. "When I got up this morning and looked into the mirror I was still the Grand Measter. Thus, I will make the decisions." She regarded Lord Bernick. I will not sentence you to execution. You are, however banished from Bevelle. I do not expect you to see you in the capital until further notice." She started to walk away, and then turned to Lord Bernick. "You're not based in Bevelle are you?" she asked suddenly. "I mean, does your position in Yevon ground you in Bevelle?"

"No" answered Lord Bernick. "I am the governor of Lasgena, a province outside the Calm Lands, Your Grace. The Cedric family has governed it under Yevon's authority for several generations."

Maleficent seemed slightly relieved. "Very well then. After this ball, I don't want to see you in the capital until further notice. If I, or more likely, those under me catch you, you will be executed without mercy. Understand?"

The governor of Lasgena nodded. He turned to walk away.

Arnis started to walk away too, but Maleficent beckoned to him. "Have you found a strategy to wipe out the Al Bhed yet?" asked the Grand Measter.

"Yes I have" said Arnis. He began to outline his strategy, but Maleficent waved her hand impatiently.

"Fine. More importantly, have you devised a way to capture Lady Yuna? We are running out of time before she and her guardians reach the Bikanel Desert."

Arnis smiled charmingly. "Don't worry, Your Grace. The genocide campaign will be just complete as Lady Yuna and her guardians enter the desert. I'll have some of the stragglers from the campaign pick her up."

Maleficent's face hardened. "No you won't. You will have a team of your best Firstblades assigned to do this. This job is too important for a small group of rank-and-file warrior monks to do. Also, any of Yuna's guardians who resist, which they probably will, are to be cut down without mercy. They are of no use to me."

"Hopefully it won't come to that."

"I don't care. Just get the job done."

Arnis bowed his head. "As you wish Your Grace" he said with another of his charming smiles. He vanished into the crowd.

"He's precocious isn't he?" said Measter Andrick. He had come up beside Maleficent. "Only seventeen and he's doing greater things than I ever did as Firstblade General. I would never have thought of taking on the task of clearing the Bikanel Desert of rats!" he gave a hearty laugh.

Maleficent rolled her eyes. "I think that Arnis has brains for one thing. Another is that he has a head for politics and pleasing higher authority." She frowned suddenly. "And yet…and yet I find myself wondering sometimes…if perhaps he has a hidden agenda somehow…" she shook her head. "But _that_ is why he is a better Firstblade General than you" she swept away, leaving Measter Andrick quite forlorn.

* * *

From behind a blue crystal pillar, Lord Bernick had heard Maleficent's whole conversation with Arnis. "Damnation" he whispered. "This is one hell of a conspiracy." He had long suspected that Lady Maleficent was involved with some kind of conspiracy, even before she had become Grand Measter, when she had simply been an official sorceress in charge of magical practices. But this…this went beyond anything that he could have imagined in his wildest dreams. A behind-closed-doors decision by the Council of Measters to wipe out the Al Bhed race, and not even any of aristocrats and officials of Yevon had been told? Something was definitely up. Shiava had disappeared recently, right after Arenna had. He now suspected that it had to do with this same ball of wax. And more importantly, Lady Yuna, the one person who had beaten Sin and lived, was in danger of being kidnapped, and…and what? Bernick didn't know, but one thing was crystal clear in his mind. There was evil at the heart of Yevon, and it was clearly for Spira's detriment. Another thing was also apparent. Someone had to warn Lady Yuna and her guardians. "And that someone" said Lord Bernick, as he had a Palace servant bring him his coat, "is going to be me." 


	23. Rikku's Secret Terror

Rikku's secret terror

"Well, that's all the stuff" said Tidus, as they showed Yuna all of the things that they had bought at the stores in Guadosolam that morning. All of the guardians were weighted down with bags of healing potions, antidotes, and eye drops for curing blindness. Remedies helped any other kinds of injuries. They also had purchased two large tents.

"We…we're not going to…to be c-c-c-camping out on the Thunder Plains are we?" asked Rikku nervously.

"Afraid of a little rain?" asked Shiava teasingly. He was surprised that Rikku was scared of anything.

Wakka laughed. "Oh, brother Shiava, you don't know Rikku. She's scared of thunder and lightning!"

"You _are_?" Shiava asked.

Rikku nodded miserably. "I've always been afraid of it."

"Sometimes people just have fears they can't get over, no matter how much time passes" said Lulu, walking by with a strange carrying case. It looked like a magenta briefcase with odd chartreuse runes carves all over it.

"What is that?" asked Tidus.

"It might better not to ask so many questions all the time" said Auron emerging from a healing item shop with an armload of bags.

"What _is _it?" asked Shiava to Lulu as the sorceress set it down.

Lulu sighed. "If you must know, it's an Omnicase. They are enchanted, so that they can carry large quantities of items and other materials in it. The Omnicase doesn't bulge, or burst. It's a favorite of travelers all over Spira."

"You sound like you're reciting some kind of television commercial" said Tidus.

Lulu blushed. "Well…I _have_ wanted one for years, and I _have_ been making subtle hints for _over three months_ that I wanted one for my birthday, but no one got the message. So…I saved up, and I happened to see this lovely magenta Omnicase in one of the item shops. And here we are."

After putting all of the items, as well as the tents into the Omnicase, the party set off toward the border of Guadosolam.

Ahead of them was a vast expanse of flat land. It was pouring rain, and the sky rumbled angrily. Sheets of lightning flashed in the heavens, and more often than not hit the ground. Here and there, tall ruined towers dotted the otherwise desolate, rain soaked landscape.

"Nice place, ya?" commented Wakka.

"Actually it is" said Auron. "The unpredictability of the lighting strikes make one consider one's mortality in more ways than one."

Shiava had to agree. He kept expecting a bolt of lightning to turn him into a pile of scorched meat.

The party made their way across the Plain. It was extremely hard going. They were attacked mercilessly by fiends. It turned out, that fiends that used the lightning element were very weak against Lulu's water spells. After about thirty attacks, Shiava had finally had enough.

"By all the gods! I've had enough of this! Is there some kind of…?"

As if in answer to his scream, Shiava saw a distant orange and white building. It was low, yet had several levels. Dimly, Shiava realized that it was an inn. "An inn! Thank the gods that it's only a few miles away."

They began to hurry toward the inn. Suddenly, lightning struck the ground a few feet away from them with a bright flash, and deafening thunder. Then, Shiava heard an inhuman screech. Drawing his sword, Shiava whirled upon the source of the hideous noise, thinking a fiend had come up behind him.

"No! Don't!"

Shiava stared. It was Rikku! She was standing there shivering with fear. Her face was dripping with a mixture of rain and tears.

Wakka walked over to her. "Wow…you're really frazzled, ya?"

They finally managed to get to the inn. When they got inside, Shiava couldn't help staring at the inside. It was totally different than it looked on the outside. The walls were painted a robin's egg blue. Shelves of books lined one wall of the place. It had a beautiful wooden desk, and a small computer terminal. There were also a set of small booths to sit down in.

"Are you alright?" asked Tidus to Rikku.

The young Al Bhed girl sniffled a bit. "Yeah…I'm fine…it's just…well you all know why! I've told the story fifty billion times!"

"Oh, don't we know that…" muttered Auron.

"Why are you afraid of lighting?" asked Shiava.

"She got struck by lightning" answered Yuna. The summoner had just come from negotiating how much it would be for their night at the inn ( the owners wanted them to stay for free) and she had a slightly amused look on her face.

"That's horrible!" said Shiava. "How could you laugh at something like that?" He looked at Yuna, who by now couldn't hide her smile.

The summoner began to explain. "She was swimming in a lake at an oasis in the Bikanel Desert, and there was a storm coming. Uncle Cid told her to get out of the water but she kept shrieking 'five more minutes dad!' and well…" Yuna didn't continue. There was no need to.

Rikku blushed with the shame that the old story still brought.

"Well we had all better get ready for bed" said Yuna. We must reach Macalania by tomorrow. Then…the Bikanel Desert, and Uncle Cid for the airship. We can see if he'll help us beat Sin again!" Yuna's face grew somber. "We may die" she said. "But we will die for the sake of the world. The world's future is more important than our own beliefs and ambitions. I'm not saying that they're not important, but we must consider the world before ourselves. That is the job of a summoner and their guardians."

All of the guardians silently acknowledged the impassioned speech with silent nods, or a brave look. All except one.

"E…excuse me guy…I just remembered…I have to practice with my sword…Firstblade rule number one: 'Practice every single day'…goodnight!" Shiava slunk off. Once in his room, he went to the small bathroom attached and splashed his face with cold water. "What the hell am I doing?!" he demanded of his reflection in the mirror. "Who do I think I'm kidding? Yuna and the others can't see the cancer eating my soul! Only Auron can, and he's trying to get me to…to…to…" Shiava couldn't even bring himself to say the word. It was just too horrible to contemplate. Shiava now realized that he couldn't keep his secret any longer. All of Spira was buzzing about Arenna Cedric. Soon the news of her connections would get out, including who she was last seen with the night she became Sin. Now, it wasn't a matter of trying to hide the terrible secret, just a matter of how to tell it as gently as possible.

Shiava threw on his pajamas without brushing his teeth that night. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. His dream that night was a strange one.

* * *

_He dreamed that he was walking along the Moonflow River with Yuna and the others. "Look at this fish" said Tidus. _

_"Okay" said Shiava. Suddenly he lost his balance and fell. The water abruptly became like jelly, trapping him inside. No matter how he twisted and turned, he couldn't get out of the hideous quagmire. _

_"Help! Guys, help me, I'm drowning!" he called. Yuna and the others stood helplessly by as he struggled. They could do nothing. _

_Suddenly another voice came to him inside the river itself. "Shiava, don't you care? Don't you want to end the suffering? I can't take it anymore!" _

_He looked down to see Arenna at the bottom of the sludge. He tried to reach her, but he couldn't, no matter how he tried. _

_Then, Tidus lifted him out of the water. "Thanks Tidus! You saved m---" _

_His breath froze in horror. It was not Tidus who had pulled him from the mire. It was Arnis. _

"AAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!" screamed Shiava, sitting up in bed. His face and neck were soaked with sweat. "Oh…it…it was just…just a nightmare…" Shiava assured himself. But it made him think. _"What am I going to do?" _he asked himself, _"what am I going to do?" _

**I know, I know. The story of how Rikku became afraid of lightning is much different then that. But, I wrote this whole story back in eight grade when i first played the game, and I'm only just now publishing it here. I'm too lazy to make updates based on my new knowledge. Once again, I apologize.**

**Mechanist out!**


	24. Kill! Kill! Kill!

Kill! Kill! Kill!

The sunrise glinted beautifully on the spires and four towers of the Palace of St. Bevelle. Arnis smiled as he looked at the beautiful scene. Today was the first day of the campaign against the Al Bhed. History would be made today. And the second phase of his plan would be complete. "Ahh, it is a beautiful day today isn't it?" Arnis said to no one in particular.

As he strode down the hallways, Arnis made sure to smile at everyone who he passed. They gave him little friendly waves or smiles. The other officials and aristocrats thought that this surprise from the Grand Measter would give them a chance to advance their own political careers by capitalizing on the Al Bhed's demise. Arnis gave a mocking smile. The pathetic fools. They were ignorant of all that was around them. They didn't see Maleficent's plan to control Sin so she could control the world, nor more importantly did they see his grand plan to save Spira by instating Sin permanently.

"But they will see" said Arnis, once again to no one in particular, "they will see, and they will thank Saint Arnis the Enlightened for bringing Spira the purity of destruction."

* * *

In his private chamber, Measter Andrick sat staring at the same sunrise with an empty bottle of beer in his hand. He had had a rough night. It was great to joke and laugh about the mass slaughter that would soon stain the hands of Yevon. But, on the day of its beginning, it was hard to have a clear conscience, knowing you were one of the architects. Andrick had stayed up half the night until falling into an uneasy sleep. Not that it had been any escape. His dreams were haunted by bloody scenes of the genocide that would commence the next day. He tried to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, he would see another bloody death. Finally, he had given up on sleep entirely. He had called for the servants to get him the necessary, and had drank himself into a stupor. Two other things were on Andrick's mind as well. One was Sin. Sin was apparently Arenna Cedric. He was beginning to question his morals. He knew Maleficent was evil; there was no doubt of that. Her ambitions pushed to using the world's suffering for her own personal gain. Of Arnis, he didn't know. His first guess was that Arnis was the same as Maleficent, capitalizing on Sin's return to gain power for himself. But…there was something else. Before he left the Council, Measter Estarce had told Maleficent to watch out for Arnis. He had brushed that off as the old Ronso trying to spread dissent among them. But…what had Maleficent said at the ball? "Sometimes I wonder…whether Arnis has a hidden agenda of his own…" Did he plan to double cross Maleficent and him, and use Sin to gain rulership of Spira? Or was there something even more sinister brewing in the unliving mind of Arnis Kelsin? Measter Andrick was _really _beginning to wish he had listened to his first instinct, and declined to throw in his lot with Maleficent and Arnis. He sighed. "No use crying over spilled milk" he muttered. Dizzily he changed into his orange robes. He washed his face and brushed his teeth. He looked in the mirror. Yikes! Well, there was nothing that could really be done about it now. He just hoped that no one would really notice his pale, haggard face, and terribly bloodshot eyes.

* * *

Maleficent walked through the halls of the Palace. She was wearing the assured smile that most politicians wear when celebrating a victory. She walked into the Dayroom of Yevon. The place was still the same as it had been at the last meeting. The vine was back in full bloom. She sat down at the long black table. Sitting at the table was Arnis, Measter Andrick, and Shilinda.

"Good morning to you Grand Measter Maleficent" said Shilinda, bowing. Measter Andrick grunted. Arnis did nothing.

"I hope you realize why you have been called here today" said Maleficent. "You have been called here to launch Yevon's attack on the Bikanel Desert. There will be no room for failure. This is not a war. I do not expect soldiers slaying each other on the battlefield. This is to be a complete and total annihilation of a race. This means obviously, that women and children are not to be spared in the least. I want all of your units to understand that as well."  
Shilinda rose from her seat and saluted sharply. "Yes, Your Grace! It will be done at once. The Al Bhed shall die for the glory of the State of Yevon!"

"Yes…the glory of Yevon" said Maleficent. Shilinda did not see her smile scornfully. By the time the warrior monk commander had returned to her seat, the Grand Measter's face was composed.

"What of…what of any… any survivors?" asked. He looked like he was afraid of the answer.

Arnis rose from his seat. He slowly sipped a glass of water that was on the table next to him, though he obviously didn't need it. "The survivors will be under the care of Yevon. This, to elaborate, means that they will be taken to various prisons and some to the Via Purifico."

"The…the Via Purifico! For what crimes! I want to see the crimes that have been committed by these individuals. Some of them might be just children you know!"

Maleficent gave Measter Andrick an irritated glance. "Their crimes and punishments will be decided when they arrive in Bevelle. But I expect there to be precious little surviving Al Bhed" she said, glancing at Arnis and Shilinda. Maleficent raised her staff. "Now go and do your duties! Do your duties for Yevon!"

Arnis got up. He and Shilinda walked to the door. "Wait a second" said Maleficent to Arnis. She beckoned to him, and then shut the door behind him. "You are to stay in Bevelle according to the plan. Here we will await the squad you sent to return in secret with Yuna."

Maleficent turned to Measter Andrick. "What in the name of Darkness did you think you were doing?! I had to scramble for an answer to that blasted question of yours! Once again, what in the name of all the gods were you _doing_?"

Andrick turned his face away. "I…I just…Oh I can't _stand_ it anymore! I can't stand this thick, suffocating evil! I want to get out of this horrible deal!"

Arnis smiled. "Measter Andrick, I think you're just experiencing cold feet from this genocide! Do you think I wanted this to happen? But I we had to for the good of Spir---for the sake of our plan. Think of all the power we will have when Sin is under Maleficent's control!"

Andrick sighed. "Alright. Let's just get this part of the plan over with" he said.

* * *

The ranks of warrior monks lined the streets in an almost parade like fashion. Their sliver armor gleamed blindingly in the late morning sunlight. They numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Each group had a Firstblade at the head, their red handled swords shining. Arnis watched them almost lovingly. They were the avatars of his plans. They would fight, die, and most importantly of all, kill. Kill all the Al Bhed. The words began to form a crazy singsong in his mind. _"KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL THE AL BHED! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL FOR SPIRA! KILL FOR SIN!"_


	25. Lost Sanity

Lost sanity

"That was a great sleep. I feel much better!" said Yuna.

"I'll feel better once we get out of these stupid plains" Rikku muttered.

The party was getting ready to leave the inn on the Thunder Plains. It was a task Rikku looked forward to. "I still gotta find Lu!" said Wakka. "Who knows where she could be?"

"I'm right here" said Lulu in an exasperated voice. "I was looking for Shiava. Has anyone seen him?"

"No, I haven't" said Yuna. "Do you think something's wrong with him?"

Lulu paused for a minute, as if she were choosing her words carefully. "Yes and no" she said finally.

"What do you mean, 'yes and no'? Stop talking in riddles! You're getting as bad as Auron!" said Tidus. He hadn't slept well that night with the constant thunder and lightning, and he was in a bad mood.

"Thank you for the compliment" said Auron dryly as he packed his belongings inside the Omnicase.

Lulu sighed. "What I mean to say is…" she paused. Then she took a deep breath. "There's something that I've been wrestling with telling you throughout this whole journey. It's about Shiava. I think something is indeed wrong with him." When Tidus opened his mouth, Lulu held up her hand for silence. "Let me finish. I don't mean physically. Mentally, I think he is suffering terribly."

"What do you mean? I know he killed his friend, but he said he's trying to repent---" said Tidus.

"He's lying" said Lulu cutting him off. "Not about killing his friend, no I think that's one of the only pieces of the truth this young sword mage has told us."

"Lu, we already talked about this on the ship, ya?" Wakka began weakly.

"Yes, but---"

"What…what are you talking about?" Shiava came walking around the corner.

Everyone was immediately quiet. "Nothing" said Tidus hurriedly. He didn't want to upset Shiava. The young sword mage looked terrible. His white hair stuck up at odd angles, as if he hadn't bothered to brush his hair at all. His violet eyes were bleary and they had dark shadows under them. He looked like the walking dead. Or rather, what one would imagine the walking dead to look like.

Shiava was tired. After the horrible nightmare he had experienced the night before, he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. He felt like he was walking in a dream. Everything seemed foggy and unreal. "Nothing…but you were having…having a debate or something…"

"It was nothing" Auron assured. He felt the same way as Tidus. The time would come for Shiava to face his secret. Either that or he would eventually go insane, consumed from within.

"Let's get going" said Wakka. He stuffed the remaining belongings into the Omnicase. Soon everyone was ready. After saying goodbye to the innkeeper (or in Kimhari's case signing) they headed out into the storm.

* * *

As they wandered in the blinding rain and deafening thunder and lightning that perpetually hung over the Thunder Plains, Shiava thought to himself. He had reached a realization, and it was not a pleasant one. The realization was, he was going mad. Slowly but surely he was losing his mind. Plagued by nightmares at night and besieged by regrets and reminisces by day, Shiava realized that his secret, no his guilt was slowly consuming his sanity.

Tidus looked at Shiava worriedly. His friend seemed to be troubled about something. Shiava's face was grim and set. He wondered if it had anything to do with the news of who Sin had chosen. Before this Shiava had seemed to be completely normal. Now he sometimes seemed to be a million lightyears away in his own tortured universe.

"Up ahead" said Kimhari suddenly. The Ronso was pointing at a group of trees that stood a few miles away. The trees seemed to be made of crystal and were shining with a strange light.

"Macalania Wood!" screamed Rikku. She began jumping up and down insanely. "She gathered Shiava in a crushing hug. "I just knew we'd make it!" she said, practically sobbing with relief.

"Arrr! Yes Rikku I'm glad we made it too" said Shiava when he could breathe.

* * *

As they entered Macalania Wood, Shiava felt himself relax. Macalania Wood was the only place in Spira where crystalwood trees could be found. The wood of the trees contained a substance that made it blue. As time went on the substance in the wood crystallized, without any adverse effects to the trees. The result was that most of the trees in Macalania Wood were completely made of clear crystal that reflected the light of the sun, bathing the Wood in delicate rainbow colors. Macalania Wood was only four miles from Bevelle, and Shiava had gone there many times with Arenna and Arnis. Sometimes just with Arenna… "Arrgh!" Shiava berated himself again. There he went again with the unconscious reminiscing. This was most likely another sign that he was going insane.

"Just look at that sunlight in that crystal. Makes you glad to be alive, ya?" asked Wakka. He was staring at all around him with wonder.

"Yeah, sure" said Shiava distractedly. He was pondering all around him. It was extremely beautiful, like Wakka had said, but Shiava wasn't interested in the beauty as much as he was interested in the memories floating around the crystal world.


	26. Macalania Blues

Macalania blues

As they headed through Macalania Wood, the party was silent and thoughtful. Macalania seemed to be a naturally quiet place. They were only attacked by fiends once or twice. Even the monsters seemed to respect the natural silence of the forest. Finally they stopped to rest. Then, Tidus came running up to them.

"Guys, guys! Guess what I found?!"

"Apparently you won't be satisfied until we guess, so what did you find?" asked Auron.

Tidus frowned. "You didn't have to be so snobby about it. I found a great clearing with a stream and everything!" he was practically dancing with excitement.

"Let's find this 'clearing' said Lulu.

As the party went along, they expected a mud hole filled with disgusting slime, and matted with dead grass. Instead, what they discovered was wilder than they could have imagined. The clearing was beautiful and grassy, on the banks of a crystal clear stream. Thick trees of the clearest blue crystal lined the banks as well.

Shiava almost gasped. It was in this place that he and Arenna had spent a lot of their time when they traveled to Macalania. "This place…it…I've been here before" Shiava whispered.

"This place…beautiful?" asked Kimhari reluctantly. He seemed uncertain for the human word for beauty.

"Yes, beautiful. This place is very beautiful" said Yuna softly.

Soon they had set up a camp. Wakka and Tidus went looking for food, and Kimhari and Auron went to gather water. Lulu and Shiava pitched the tent, while Yuna and Rikku cleaned everyone's weapons. When the chores were finished, everyone sat around either talking or, in Shiava's case, brooding.

"You alright?" asked Tidus. He looked concerned.

Shiava allowed a big "Everything-in-the-World's-Fine" smile to paste itself across his face. "Oh, sure everything's great. I'm just thinking about the Bikanel Desert. It's going to be a weird experience. I mean, I've never been to the Al Bhed homeland, I've only heard about it in stories."

Tidus smiled. "Yeah, tell me about it. I've been there though. It's an interesting place, hot as Hell though. And Rikku's father Cid is the leader of the Al Bhed, so we got treated well when we got to the Home. Basically, the Bikanel Desert is hot, huge, and filled with fiends. It's really wild. I mean, you can go for miles without seeing a single town or settlement, not even a house or outpost."

"Wow" said Shiava. "That's really weird compared to our stuff."

Lulu came over to them. "Dinner's ready" she said. "Yuna cooked something that's actually edible this time."

Shiava frowned questioningly. "What do you mean 'edible this time'?"

Tidus smiled. "We've been staying at inns and stuff so you don't know Yuna's cooking. She has the fine touch of burning something as easy as a piece of bread, and that's just getting started!"

"Well, come on. We'll see what she cooked this time" said Lulu.

Yuna had cooked some kind of bird meat that Wakka had killed with his blitzball. It was actually quite good. "MMMM good" said Tidus, and promptly burped.

"Class act" said Lulu.

* * *

As they sat silently over dinner, Shiava let his mind touch the trees. The ancient monoliths of the forest were familiar with him. _Why you're here again little one _said a particularly ancient tree. It had sat by the stream for as long as Shiava could remember. He felt it question. _Where are your other companions? You have new friends, yet where are the others? _

Shiava responded with his own mental voice. _"They're _not _my friends. I…I'm using them" _he spat finally.

_What? _

_"I'm using them, damn it!" _Shiava screeched mentally.

"Whoa" said Tidus. He looked at Brotherhood, which suddenly vibrated.

Shiava started. His mental scream had been so loud that the inanimate objects with which he communicated picked it up. Trees had also shaken. Some had cracked their branches with the outburst. Shiava felt himself blush despite the fact that none of the others would guess what had happened.

Suddenly Yuna cleared her throat. "My guardians" she said softly. "Tomorrow we will be in the Bikanel Desert, home of the Al Bhed."

"Yeah baby!" Rikku shouted suddenly.

Lulu frowned at Rikku's outburst.

"Rikku, please _try_ to control yourself when Yuna's talking."

Yuna began again. "We will be arriving in the main city of the Al Bhed, the Home." She stopped talking for a minute and sighed. "There we will be talking to my uncle, Cid about how to defeat Sin. We will ask him for his support in this fight, and the support of his, _my _people." Her voice became stronger. "We **will **win this fight! Sin _**must **_not return this time around. We will stop it if it costs us our lives!" she raised her staff in the air.

Shiava felt the need to confess his terrible secret burning inside his mouth, blistering the skin off his gums, and boiling his teeth. He _needed _to spit it out, the corrosive acid that was eating his soul. But at the same time, Shiava found he couldn't. What would the others say? Would they hate him? Probably. They might even kill him. And Shiava couldn't afford to die. Not yet. He had to free Arenna, and then he could die anytime he wanted. Yet Shiava knew it would be better for them to find out from him than from someone else. _"Fine" _Shiava thought _"I'll tell them when we reach the Home." _

Auron stood up. "I say we should get into bed now. We must get an early start if we want to be a good distance across the Bikanel Desert. With that, they all went to bed.

* * *

When the Kimhari woke all of them, it was still dark outside. "Oh, for goodness' sakes" said Shiava irritably. "Can't we get a little more sleep? Even at the Palace of St. Bevelle, we didn't have to get up so early. What time is it anyway?" Shiava checked his watch. He didn't like what he saw. _"Three twenty five A.M.?! Are you freakin' nuts or something? I can't be up at this time of morning! And without coffee? You've got to be kidding me!" _

Kimhari ignored Shiava's screams of outrage. The tall Ronso went over to the other tents to get the others up. Sleepily, Tidus and Shiava staggered around the camp trying to get everything packed.

"And we're getting up at this unholy hour again because why?" asked Lulu irritably. The sorceress was stuffing her belongings into the Omnicase. Her face was tired and drawn, and even paler without its usual makeup.

Tidus was in full agreement. He turned to Auron, who wasn't in the least perturbed. He did seem a bit worried though. "Is _this _your idea of an 'early start'?!"

For once Auron did not comment on Tidus' rudeness. Instead Auron sat down with a sigh. "No, I was planning on more of a four o'clock get up time. Then…I spotted something that requires our awareness."

"What…what is that?" asked Yuna sleepily. She had emerged from the tent and was rubbing her eyes.

"A party of soldiers, warrior monks. Moving eastward."

Shiava was furious. "You woke us all up an hour earlier just because you saw some freakin' _warrior monks?! _Bevelle's only four miles from here! Of course we're going to see warrior monks!"

Auron looked calmly at the irate sword mage. "Are you quite finished?" he asked. "If you are, I have another bit of news. This wasn't a mere party of them. This was an army. There were literally hundreds of them, all marching from Bevelle. There were Firstblades at their head. It was as if they were readying some kind of war."

"That can't be!" Wakka cried. "Hasn't been a war for a thousand years, ya?"

"It does sound a bit strange" said Lulu. "Yet I agree with Sir Auron. We must remain vigilant." The sorceress paused. "What I want to know though, is where could they be going? From what Sir Auron describes, this was no simple party sent out to quell a provincial rebellion. This was an army. The whole world is united under the State of Yevon. Who…" her voice trailed off.

"You don't think…?" began Tidus.

"I do" answered Lulu.

"The Al Bhed" whispered Yuna fearfully.

They all nodded.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute. Why would Yevon just up and attack the only independent nation in the world?" asked Shiava. He didn't get any of it.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Suddenly, a yawn interrupted them.

"Wow, it sure is too early to get up like this…hey guys!" Rikku came running up to them. The Al Bhed girl's hair was tousled and more disheveled than usual.

"It's nothing Rikku" said Yuna nervously. She was fiddling with her staff. "We just decided to get up a little…earlier than we planned last night."

"But what about the arm---" Shiava began, but was elbowed simultaneously by Wakka and Tidus.

"We should get going" said Auron abruptly.

As they packed half an hour later, Shiava turned to Tidus. "What was all that about?" he asked angrily. His sides still hurt from the sharp elbowing he had received from his friends.

Wakka turned away. "Rikku's got her heart set on seein' her city and her people again, ya? We don't wanna take that from her."

Tidus set his face. "I don't know what's going on" he said, "but if, for some reason Yevon is attacking the Al Bhed, we've got to hurry. We can't have Rikku slowing us up with her worries. It just makes things worse."

Shiava nodded. "I understand."

Tidus suddenly grinned. "I bet it's nothing. Probably Auron just being paranoid. We'll probably find the Al Bhed fine as rain!"

Shiava stared to smile but stopped. Tidus was smiling in a reassuring manner, but his eyes told how worried he was.

They trudged through the crystal forest of Macalania Wood for two hours after that. They met no other travelers on the road.

"I don't like this" said Shiava to Yuna. "I can…feel the trail of the soldiers. I can sense the emotions that their weapons and armor felt. There was fear and hate…"

"What do you mean?" asked Auron suddenly. He seemed genuinely interested.

Shiava began to explain to the two. As a sword mage I can sense the emotions of inanimate objects. These feelings have certain…" Shiava struggled to find the words, "colors, for lack of a better word. I could feel the red of anger and hate, and the grayish of despair…" he paused.

* * *

They didn't talk for a while after that. Shiava noticed that everyone was acting a bit nervous. Even Kimhari seemed to be a bit tentative. He walked over to Yuna and signed something, pointing to Rikku. He saw Yuna sigh sadly. Shiava also noticed a change in their surroundings. The trees that they passed now were shorter and more than one was dead. They were no longer completely crystal like the ones in the center of Macalania Wood. The air was also begging to get warmer. Soon it was very hot. And this was when Shiava began to notice something else. It started at first with a small buzz. At first Shiava thought he was imagining it. He looked at the others. They were fine. Soon the buzzing got just an inch louder. It was like a gigantic multitude of voices, all just below his hearing range. Once again Shiava looked to the others. They seemed to be unaffected the voices. By now the trees had all but vanished. The air was very hot and now sand littered the ground. Then, he heard Kimhari shout. The Ronso pointed up ahead. There was a large break in the sparse trees. Beyond it there was only a vast expanse of sand stretching out under a massive clear blue sky.

"Race you to the desert!" yelled Tidus. Wakka laughed.

Shiava grinned. "You're on!"

The three of them laughed and ran as fast as they could. Behind them everyone, even Auron smiled. They had finally done it. After all the places they had traveled, they had reached it.

They had reached the Bikanel Desert.


	27. The Madness

The madness

As the group stepped onto the desert, the buzzing of small voices Shiava had been hearing skyrocketed. The buzzing filled his head, blocking out all thoughts. It was like a billion voices all talking at the same time, just below his hearing range. It was impossible to make out what they were saying. It was tormenting, horrible. Shiava screamed and sank to his knees clutching his head. Shiava vaguely noticed Tidus running over to him. The mind numbing sound clawed at his reason, threatening to send his already taxed mind hurling into insanity. Shiava suddenly realized what was causing this. It was the sand. The sand, every little individual grain of sand was talking, and as a sword mage he could hear it!

Shiava saw Yuna kneel in front of him. Her mouth moved, but no sound seemed to issue fourth from it.

"I…I…AAAAGGGHH! I…can't…blot…out…I can't blot them out!" Shiava cried in agony.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Rikku worriedly. She looked at Yuna.

Her cousin looked helplessly at Shiava, who was now writhing in the sand. "It…I think…I think the sand is affecting him like this…"

"We need to help him somehow. Fast!" said Auron. "If we don't, his mind will break under the strain. Deserts are avoided like the plague by sword mages for this reason. I wonder why his family didn't tell him this?"

Tidus rushed over. "What're we going to do?" he asked.

"Kimhari carry Shiava" said Kimhari. The tall Ronso picked up the writhing sword mage with ease.

"We have to do something!" said Tidus. "He'll die if we don't!"

It was an unpleasant few hours. The party ran at breakneck speed across the hot desert. They were looking for shelter, an oasis, _something_ that would help their newest friend. At last they found a cluster of ruins. Sitting down on the sandy stone, they tried to revive Shiava.

When he didn't respond to their efforts, Rikku panicked. "He's going to die! He's going to die!"

"Calm down Rikku!" snapped Lulu. "We're _trying_ to help Shiava, but we can't if you keep talking!"

_Shiava floated through a dark haze. Voices gibbered at him, some praised him, some cursed him, some judged him, and some mocked him. It was impossible to think, to see clearly. "I'm dying" Shiava realized dully. He was being overwhelmed by the voices of the sands…_

_"No!" Shiava shouted suddenly. "I…I can't…I can't die yet…I promised I wouldn't die! I promised I wouldn't die until I freed Arenna! I __**have**__ to live! I will block out these wretched voices! I…will…__**live!**__" _

Shiava suddenly sat blot upright, screaming "I WILL FREE ARENNA!"

Everyone jumped back in surprise. "Y…you're alive" said Rikku.

Shiava stood up shakily. "Yeah…I…I am alive…" he sank back down. "I didn't think I was going to…to make it" Shiava said.

"Who's Arenna?" asked Tidus.

Shiava was silent for a good five minutes. "Arenna…Arenna was my girlfriend" he said quietly. "The one who got taken into the convent of clerics."

"Oh" said Tidus. "Why were you screaming 'I will free Arenna!' like that?"

Shiava sighed. "I was just…I don't know! I don't even remember saying it!"

Tidus looked slightly puzzled, but he didn't say anything.

Kimhari looked up at the sky. The sun was in the middle of the sky. "Getting late" he said. Hefting his lance, the Ronso went off to guard against desert fiends.

Auron walked over to Shiava. "Are you well enough to travel?" he asked curtly. A bit more curt than usual. Looking at him, Shiava saw that Auron was gripping his sword handle so hard that his knuckles were white. "You could have told them" Auron said. "You were so close."

Shiava glared at him. He had managed to block out the voices, but his head still was tingling, and he felt slightly dizzy. "I'm really not in the mood for this" Shiava said turning his back.

"You will not find peace until you confess to what you and your friends did that night" Auron said darkly.

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'm just stating what you already know."

"Grrr…" was the only response.

Auron turned and walked off. Shiava stood there for a few moments before heading in the same direction.


	28. Surprise Attack

Surprise attack

The party made their way across the Bikanel Desert. As to where exactly they were going, Shiava didn't know. Rikku walked with Yuna and Tidus at the head of the group. She seemed to know exactly where they were going.

Suddenly a large shadow passed over the group. Glad for the shade, Shiava looked up to see if a merciful cloud had blocked out the unforgiving sun. When he did he gasped. There was no cloud. Instead a gigantic bird was blocking out the sun. It was jet black, and its wings were lined with pulsing purple veins. Its orange beak was open in a loud cry.

Rikku's face was ashen. "It's a Zu" she whispered in horror.

"What the hell's a Zu?!" asked Shiava, hurriedly drawing his sword.

Lulu stepped up next to him. "Zu's are horrible birds native to the Bikanel Desert. They eat anything, even people."

"Guys! Protect Yuna! We'll handle this!" Tidus commanded.

Tidus, Shiava, and Rikku stood in front of the Zu. It began to circle.

"Ahhh, how exactly do we fight this thing?" asked Shiava nervously.

"This is how!" Rikku yelled. She drew a grenade and threw it at the bird. It exploded with a boom. There was a cloud of black smoke and a loud squawk from the Zu.

"Great shot!" yelled Tidus. He ran through the smoke. The Zu flew up in the air just as Tidus slashed down with Brotherhood. The blue blade just clipped its right wing. It shrieked in anger and flew away.

"There" said Tidus. The others came out from hiding.

Soon after that they were attacked by a few wild desert dogs, and some kind of chunky lizard like fiends called drakes. They were dispatched with a few swings of Kimhari's lance and Auron's large sword.

They walked for hours. Rikku was getting more and more excited by the second. "I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!" she shrieked. She jumped up and down. Teressig!" she screeched up at the sky.

"What does _that_ mean?" asked Shiava.

"Means 'happy' in Al Bhed. You got to start learning, ya?" said Wakka.

"He's right" said Lulu. "After all, how can you travel with an Al Bhed and not know the language?"

"Rikku, calm down" said Yuna. Rikku was now doing a handstand.

Tidus looked up at the blinding sunlight. The sky was cloudless and clear and the sun was bright and hot. "Now I know why the Al Bhed have those weird rings instead of pupils" he whispered to Shiava. "Just look at that sun."

Shiava looked at his watch, then at the sky. "Don't worry" he said "the sun's a lot less bright, and it's four fifty seven."

Suddenly Shiava heard a whirring and clicking noise. He turned to see a strange sight. A robot was walking toward them. It was short; it only came up to Shiava's knees, and it was very slow. It clicked and clacked as it moved. One hand was divided into three fingers, and the other was a sharp blade.

"Weird" said Shiava. He began to walk toward it.

Kimhari stepped forward suddenly. "Shiava! Beware machine!" he yelled.

Shiava didn't know what happened next. One minute the strange robot was a few feet away from him, the next minute Kimhari was blocking its _very_ sharp blade on the shaft of his lance.

Lulu raised her hand. A bolt of lightning struck down blowing the robot to bits.

"Gods! What was _that_?!" Shiava asked, horrified.

Rikku stepped forward. "Our machines" she said nonchalantly. "They sometimes get out of control so we dump them in the wild."

"It…it tried to kill me!" Shiava said.

"Don't be such a baby!" Rikku laughed. "They're just annoying."

Auron walked past Shiava. "Next time, don't wander away from the group. Curiosity killed the cat."

The sun began to sink in the sky. Shiava watched its progress as they group began to hike up a small range of large sand dunes. It had been a long and tiring day. He couldn't wait to get to the Home. Then he could have a nice decent meal and a soft bed. Then…start talking about beating Sin.

Shiava was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't almost didn't hear Yuna shout.

Jerking out of his trance he saw what she was pointing to. Someone…or rather _something_ was coming up a sand dune toward them. It seemed to be hopping. Seen from the distance, in the light of the setting sun, was a large silhouette. It seemed to be about nine feet tall and lacking arms. It had extremely long jointed legs that seemed to end in long toeless feet.

"Is that another one of your lose machines?" demanded Shiava, drawing his sword. Whatever it was, it was still pretty far away. The party wanted to surprise it. It was now very clear that this entity wasn't human.

"I don't know" Rikku said. She didn't seem afraid, just puzzled. "I've never seen one of those at home."

Then the thing came hopping onto a sand dune across from theirs. They could now see that it was indeed a machine, a robot to be precise. It was brownish colored, and had a long angular head. Two purple optic sensors were set on either side of the "face." One was in the middle of the forehead. The thing had no mouth. It _was _very tall, and its jointed legs were very powerful looking. Its feet were flat and had steel on the bottoms. It hopped its way down the sand dune.

"I don't like this" said Auron. Everyone agreed. While the thing hadn't done anything to them yet, they didn't know how it would react once it encountered them.

Suddenly the thing appeared in front of them. Yuna cried out and jumped back. Shiava was surprised and a bit scared. Unlike the clunky abandoned robots that populated the desert, this thing was so silent that it had snuck up on them without them even noticing.

"What do we do?" asked Wakka nervously.

"Be ready for anything" said Lulu. Shiava could tell she was already preparing her arsenal of deadly spells.

Without warning the robot lunged. Its powerful kick caught Tidus full in the chest. "AAAGG!" Tidus screamed. There was a horrid wet cracking sound. The brunette blitzball player went flying a few feet away.

"TIDUS!" Yuna screamed in despair.

Tidus landed with a dull _whump! _and rolled a bit before laying still.

Shiava rushed over to him. "Tidus hold on!" he said, preparing a healing potion from his pocket,

The robot began to hop forward rapidly. Shiava saw it from the corner of his eye. It seemed to be preparing another kick. It was hopping and swinging one leg. Up close Shiava realized that the robot was actually made out of stone with circuitry implanted to regulate its movement.

"Oh holy---"

Suddenly the robot shuddered and staggered forward. Auron took a slash at its back with his long sword. Sparks leaped from the contact. It whirled on him. Auron managed to avoid the brunt of its kick, but he was still thrown to the ground. "Arrgh!" he said.

Lulu raised her hand. A gush of water flew up from the ground, knocking the robot down. Kimhari leaped up suddenly. The Ronso jumped high into the air. Then without warning he crashed down on the robot, stabbing his lance blade into the head. It collapsed and remained motionless.

"Thank the gods" said Shiava.

"What _was _that thing?" asked Wakka. "Never seen anything like it before."

Rikku looked at the motionless body of the machine. "I don't know" she said in a quiet voice. "I really don't know. We've nevermade anything like this."

Shiava was trying to see to Tidus. He was breathing irregularly and coughing up blood. Shiava poured the healing potion into Tidus' mouth. The boy stopped coughing and soon he sat up. "Ugh, what was that thing?" he asked.

"We're still trying to find an answer for that mechanical monstrosity" said Auron brushing himself off.

Rikku ran over to examine the motionless body.

"Rikku! Stay back!" Yuna yelled.

"Relax Yunie, it's dead" said Rikku. She looked over at it. "Look! It's got some kind of writing on it!"

They hurried over. The robot did indeed have writing on it. It was letters and a number. YKT-63 it said.

Shiava felt his blood turn to ice. He had heard of YKT-63s. They were the mechanized fighting machines in Yevon's military. He never knew what they had looked like. What were they doing here?

"This…this is serious" said Auron. "What is a Yevon military machine doing in the Bikanel Desert among the Al Bhed?"

"Yeah" said Rikku. "Wonder why they're here?"

"We _have to get to the Home_!" Yuna yelled suddenly.

Everyone stared at Yuna. "What is it?" asked Lulu. "Are you worried about the army?"

"What army?" asked Rikku.

Everyone was silent. Finally Yuna spoke. "Rikku…earlier today…Sir Auron spotted an army of warrior monks led by Firstblades. They were headed for the Bikanel Desert. And Shiava also picked up the feel of their weapons earlier in Macalania Wood."

Rikku stood silent for a few minutes. Then she laughed. "And you think they got the Home?" she asked. "Yunie come on! You worry too much!" She laughed again. "The Home's fine!" she turned to everyone. "Let's just hurry so we can meet my dad again!"

She began to run ahead. Shiava ran after her. "Wait!" he yelled.

Shiava followed Rikku up and down the sand dunes. He forgot about everyone else. Rikku didn't slow down at all. _"Doesn't that girl ever get tired?!" _Shiava thought irritablySoon they had reached a huge rise.

"There it is! Look! Just over this hill!" shouted Rikku.

Panting heavily, Shiava staggered after her. "Rikku, slow down!" he yelled after her.

If the Al Bhed girl heard him, she didn't show it. "The Home is here!" she yelled. Shiava come on! I want to show you our main city! You've never seen anything like it---" her words were suddenly shut off like a clamp.

Shiava was worried. He wondered if she had been attacked by a fiend. He couldn't see her. It was about six fifty seven and it was now twilight. "Rikku!" he called. There was no response. Now very worried, Shiava started to run. "Rikku!" he called again. Then he heard a something that sounded like a scream and a sob mixed together. Shiava finally reached the top of the giant dune. What he saw horrified him. Below them was the Al Bhed main city, the Home. Rikku was right. There was nothing like it. The city was walled on all sides. Its buildings and skyscrapers were huge and almost touched the wall. A huge gate was the only entrance into the city. But that was not the horrible part. The walls had been almost completely destroyed. Smoke and flames were shooting out of buildings. Hundreds of Zu flew in the air around the shattered city. Other fiends had entered the city through the broken walls, and Shiava could just guess why they were there.

They had indeed found the Home. A pity they were too late.


	29. Home of Despair

Home of despair

Shiava was so transfixed by the nightmarish sight before him that he didn't notice the others come up behind him. He only noticed when he heard their cries of horror at what had happened to the Home.  
"Gods above" muttered Lulu. The sorceress put a hand to her eyes. Wakka put his arm around her.

Everyone was silent until Yuna spoke. "Where's Rikku?" she asked suddenly. "Has anyone seen Rikku?"

Shiava looked down. Halfway down the dune he saw a huddled figure. "I found her" he said quietly.

They ran down the dune until they reached Rikku. She was hugging herself. Tears were slowly dripping from her eyes down her face. "No…" was all she would say.

"Rikku, I…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" said Tidus. Everyone was horrified by the sight. They also felt uncomfortable about what to say to Rikku. Yuna's cousin seemed to be in a state of shock. She was unnaturally quiet.

* * *

Finally they reached the Home. It was much worse up close. Shiava could see that the whole wall was barely left. As they stepped into the city, they saw a terrible sight. The buildings and stores had been completely gutted by fire. Those that weren't gutted or at least singed were burnt to the ground. Wreckage littered the streets, along with dead bodies. The bodies were a mixture of Al Bhed and warrior monks and some, by their red handled swords, Firstblades. They had been shot and some had been slashed with swords. Broken weapons and armor lay all over the ground. Suddenly, he heard Wakka cry out in anger. Whirling, the sword mage saw what Wakka was so furious over. A small birdlike fiend, much like a Zu was nibbling on the dead body of an Al Bhed child.

"Oh no you don't!" Wakka shouted. He flung his spiked blitzball at the bird, killing it instantly. Yuna walked around the city, her face down. Tidus followed closely behind, his face worried. It was completely dark now, but the moon illuminated things very well, as well as the light from small fires here and there.

"Damn Yevon!" yelled Wakka suddenly. "What were they thinking?!"

Rikku finally spoke. "I…I think…I think they must have finally gotten tired of us…I just can't believe this happened." She turned to all of them. "Our teachings say that our god Verkadh…they say that he chose for us to remain our own people. That was why we never accepted Yevon like the rest of Spira. Everyone says we're difficult and horrible but…that's why." She stopped. Suddenly Rikku began to cry. She sobbed softly. Yuna hugged her and began to pat her back.

Kimhari looked at the devastation. "This is wrong. Kimhari thinks they should pay" the Ronso said.

"But who are 'they'?" said Tidus. "We **will** find out who the bastards are that did this."

Shiava looked out at the horror around him. He couldn't believe this had happened. He suddenly felt anger. He remembered the body of the child. He felt ferociously angry at the monster who would order something like this. He looked at Rikku who had now stopped crying and was snuffling quietly. He thought back to the voyage to Kornos Port and then the journey to the Moonflow. He though about all the good natured (if maddening) pranks Rikku had pulled on them. It seemed _wrong_ somehow for her to be sad, let alone crying.

Auron interrupted Shiava's thoughts. "We should try to find any survivors. Maybe we can find out what is going on, and why Yevon attacked them."

"I doubt there's anything here but the dead" said Shiava suddenly. "This looks like it happened a day ago, maybe more. If there were any survivors…they would have run off into the desert by now."

"Y…you…you think so?" asked Rikku softly. "Do you think that…do you think my dad and my brother are…are…" she couldn't say it.

Tidus patted her on the back. "I'm sure Cid is alive and well…and mad as Hell to!"

That raised a weak laugh from everyone. "I think Cid is a bit more than mad Tidus" said Yuna softly.

"Yeah…" said Tidus. He looked around. "I hate to say it, but…it looks like we're going to have to camp out in this place for a while." He looked at Rikku. "Don't worry. We'll get out of this hell first thing in the morning."

Rikku nodded silently and sat back down. She put her head in her knees.

"Come on" said Tidus. We have to find a place to stay."

Rikku nodded and got up. "Thank you guys…for everything" she said.

* * *

As they made their way through the ruined city, they encountered more scenes of destruction. Wrecked YKT-63s, bodies clutching weapons in deaths cold grip, and demolished buildings. Finally, they discovered an abandoned inn. Its door had been smashed in, and when they entered, they saw that there were bodies everywhere.

"What a mess" said Tidus. He looked at the body of a man, most likely the innkeeper and sighed. "I guess we better…find rooms."

As they party settled in rooms that weren't touched very much by the massive genocide that had swept the Home of the Al Bhed, they thanked the gods for their blessings. Each also swore a silent vow to themselves that they would find the one or ones responsible for this…and make them pay. What they didn't know however was, that soon things would get worse. Much, much worse.


	30. Yuna

"Yuna…"

No one got any sleep that night. Everyone was sickened and horrified by what they had witnessed. They were also a bit unnerved at the knowledge that they were in a city of the dead.

Shiava contemplated his options. He couldn't tell them his secret now. It just wasn't the time. _"On the other hand" _he thought _"I could tell them now. They would be too upset to do anything _too_ bad to me…" _Shiava finally was able to drift off to sleep. It didn't seem very long afterwards that he jerked awake with a start. Shiava didn't know what was wrong, but he had been on watch duty enough times to know when something wasn't right. Getting up, the sword mage put on his jacket and buckled on his sword. As he crept down the stairs in the dark (the power was cut) he tried to ignore the bodies lying on the stairs. Then, Shiava lost his balance in the dark. He fell hard, and almost immediately there was a hand around his mouth!

"AAAH!" Shiava screamed. He tried to fight off the unknown attacker.

"Shiava, for the love of the gods it's me!" yelled Tidus.

"Then why the hell did you sneak up on me like that?!"

Tidus blushed. "Sorry. I thought…I just had a feeling something was wrong. I guess the same happened to you?"

Shiava nodded.

Tidus laughed. "I guess we better head bac---"

He was interrupted by a loud crashing sound. "Come on!" Shiava yelled, drawing his sword. Tidus did the same, drawing Brotherhood and following the sword mage to the lobby.

Everyone, fully dressed was gathered there. "Something wrong" said Kimhari. "Kimhari sense men, humans" the Ronso said darkly.

"What's going on?" asked Yuna. The summoner was looking outside the windows of the inn.

"Shut the curtain!" Auron commanded. The legendary guardian drew his long black sword. "We don't know who or maybe even what is out there. It would be unwise to let them know we are here until we're sure they're friendly."

"Then let's go out and look!" said Tidus. Before anyone could stop him, he flung open the door and dashed outside.

"Wait for me!" yelled Wakka. He tucked his deadly blitzball under his arm and ran out the door after Tidus.

"Come back!" cried Lulu. The sorceress sighed.

"We've got to stop them!" yelled Shiava. He began to go to the door as well.

"Stay here!" commanded Lulu. "We've got enough problems as it is without _you _going off as well."

Shiava didn't know what she meant by "_you_" but he had more important things to worry about. Suddenly, they all heard the clear sound of voices. They sounded terse and angry. Then they heard the sound of footsteps. The steps were coming toward the inn.

"Get ready" said Auron. He had settled into a defensive position, his sword held horizontally.

Suddenly a voice came from outside. "Lady Yuna and guardians! Get out of that inn! Now! By order of Yevon, _GET OUT!" _Whoever was out there sounded angry.

"Be very careful" said Lulu.

"Yuna get behind Kimhari" said Kimhari, hefting his lance. Its sharp blade shone gleamed.

* * *

Slowly they all came out of the inn. What they saw was astounding. A group of about thirty warrior monks were standing around the building. They all had their AK-47s aimed at the group. Standing miserably with their hands behind their backs were Tidus and Wakka. Brotherhood and Wakka's blitzball lay in a pile. At the head of the group stood an eighteen year old girl. She wore a white jumpsuit with a green tunic over it. Her brown hair was braided in two, and she had an AK-47 as well. Shiava gasped. It was Shilinda, commander of the warrior monks!

From the look Shilinda gave him, she must have recognized him too. Suddenly Shiava's surprise gave way to anger. If Shilinda was the commander of the warrior monks, she must have had something to do with the Al Bhed massacre.

"Well, well, well" said Shilinda. Her gray eyes narrowed in hate as she looked at Shiava. "I see that you fell right into our trap."

"What trap?" demanded Lulu. "Are you saying that you knew we would arrive in the Home?"

Shilinda sneered. "Why yes. We knew that you would arrive here thanks to our extensive network of intelligence watching your every move. Hundreds of travel logs checked. Thousands of people asked. Many, many days of searching."

"But why? Why are you doing this?" asked Yuna.

Shilinda smiled charmingly and bowed to Yuna. "Lady Yuna, High Summoner, defeater of Sin the _first_ time" she added with a nasty smile "you are to be seized immediately and taken to the capital Bevelle by order of Firstblade General Arnis Kelsin, and Grand Measter Maleficent."

Shiava's head spun. Arnis…Arnis was Firstblade General? He had completely forgotten that the former Grand Measter Mika had made Arnis Firstblade General. Another thing occurred to him. His unease about Arnis hadn't been for nothing. Arnis was indeed still plotting his diabolical scheme. And if Shiava remembered their conversation in the Temple Chamber, the first phase of his former friend's plan was complete.

"How dare you even _consider_ such a thing?" Auron's deep voice shocked Shiava out of his daze. Auron had slid out of his defense position. He was now crouched with his sword pointed at Shilinda and her group. "As a guardian I cannot allow the likes of you to have Yuna" he growled. "Whether you have been sent by the two most high ranking officials in Yevon does not concern me in the least. You can tell them I said that."

Shilinda turned to the others. "Apparently the legendary Sir Auron isn't as compliant with the laws as legends made him up to be. Very well. What about you? You do realize that our orders are to kill you if you resist, don't you? Will you still fight to protect your summoner? Or will you do the right thing and allow the orders of Yevon to be done?"

Suddenly Shiava stepped forward. The sword mage had drawn his sword and his eyes were on the cracked, bloodstained ground. "I understand the laws of Yevon" he said. "I was a Firstblade after all. I understand how important the laws are, and I have made a promise as a Firstblade to serve the measters and Yevon for life."

There were gasps of horror from the party. "Y…you can't be serious, ya?" yelled Wakka. This got him and Tidus both jabs from gun handles.

Shiava suddenly Shiava's head snapped up. He brought his sword into the attack formation he had learned as a Firstblade. "But I made an even more important vow" Shiava said suddenly. "I made a promise under the Code of the Guardian. 'Protect the summoner even unto death' is what it said. It's more important than some stupid Firstblade promise. I'll help the others protect Yuna against anyone…even the government. There's also the small fact that these guys" he gestured to the entire group "are my friends. I couldn't betray them. So no I won't give up Yuna…I'll fight!"

Shilinda looked surprised. "Not what I expected…but I guess that's what I should expect from a rotten murderer like _you_ Shiava Horst."

"Rotten murderer?" Shiava laughed. "Now there's the pot calling the kettle black!"

"Yes…" Shilinda sneered once again. "The Al Bhed were completely unprepared for our assault. It was over sooo quickly. Sure we lost a few men, but our goal was accomplished." She laughed terribly.

It was then something in Shiava Horst snapped. Maybe it was the strain of having the weight of a hideous secret on his shoulders. Maybe it was seeing an entire race wiped out. Maybe it was both of those things. Either way Shiava went insane. "YOU MONSTER!!!" he screamed and threw himself blindly at the monks, sword flailing. They scattered like marbles in their haste to avoid the deadly blade.

"Yeah! All right!" yelled Tidus. He kicked one of the warrior monks in the back. The man staggered forward and fell. Tidus quickly grabbed Brotherhood and threw Wakka his blitzball.

"Thanks man!" yelled Wakka. He punched another monk before he could react.

Auron stepped forward. "Get the others to safety!" he ordered Kimhari.

The Ronso nodded, and ran off with Yuna, Lulu, and Wakka.

This left Shiava, Tidus, Rikku and, of course, Auron. Auron pointed his sword at Shilinda and her company. "I suggest that you refrain from attacking us."

Shiava and Tidus pointed their swords at the group as well. Rikku silently readied her grenades.

"Commander, what should we do?" asked one warrior monk.

"I don't know!" Shilinda snapped at him. She seemed to be thinking. Finally she sighed. "Attack!" she commanded.

The monks immediately complied. They opened fire. Auron dodged and ducked in front of one of the monks. "Die!" the legendary guardian roared. He swung his long black sword into the man's chest. The monk's armor protected him from the sharpness of the blade, but it did nothing for the force of which Auron struck him. There was a horrible cracking sound, and the monk was lifted off the ground by the force of the blow. He slammed into a building and slid to the sidewalk. He did not get up.

"Aaagh!" snapped Tidus. A bullet got him in the leg. The monk who shot him smiled and prepared another round. Shiava kicked him in the back. He crashed to the ground with a thud. Tidus stabbed him in the back of the neck. He twitched and was still.

"You alright?" Shiava asked tensely as bullets zipped past them.

"Yeah…I just…I don't think I'll be doing anymore blitzing for a while" Tidus breathed.

Rikku ducked behind a piece of rubble. "We know you're there, desert rat!" some of the monks jeered. They began to blast the piece of rubble with their AK-47s. Rikku took an empty grenade shell from one of her pouches. She opened her pouch of chemicals. Rikku's heart burned with anger and sadness. These people had destroyed her home, and her people. She began mixing chemicals and pouring them into the shell, wrinkling her nose at the smell. She had something especially bad in store for them.

"Arrrgh!" said Auron. He had been hit two times in the side. He sank to the ground. A warrior monk went over to finish him off. Auron swept his sword with one hand. It hit with lethal accuracy and the unfortunate's head went flying.

Shiava ducked and dodged, giving out painful punches and kicks. He hesitated to use his sword on any of them. He was angry, no furious with them, but he just couldn't bring himself to kill more. He had already killed three people.

The piece of rubble that Rikku was hiding behind was now nearly nonexistent. Bullets were taking out chunks of the concrete. Rikku looked down and tried to concentrate, to ignore the screams, curses, and gunshots ringing around her. Any mistake and it could be fatal, not just to her, but to everyone around her. Finally it was finished. "A hune cleaa y dunnica" Rikku murmured in Al Bhed. "Revenge is sweet." With those words, Rikku threw the grenade she had made. It suddenly exploded with a roar and a cloud of gray smoke among the twenty seven who were left.

Shiava, Auron, Rikku, and even Tidus looked up. Where the twenty seven warrior monks once stood were all statues. They had been petrified. Then with a crash, they all shattered.

"By all the gods" Shiava breathed in horror. He knew what the soldiers of Yevon had done, but even they didn't deserve such a fate.

"Wh…what…what have you _done_?" asked Shilinda in horror. She backed away from the group.

Shiava, Auron, Tidus, and Rikku assembled. Tidus was limping badly, and Auron was clutching hid side. "Damn…" muttered Shiava. They were two people short.

"How could you _do _this?!" screamed Shilinda.

Shiava had had enough. "What the hell do you mean 'how could we do this'?! How could _you_ do this? You wiped out an entire civilization!" he gestured to Rikku. "You killed her people! You should be the one ashamed of yourself!"

"But…but Arnis…"

"What about Arnis?!" Shiava had completely forgotten that Tidus Rikku and Auron were still present. "He can go to the Farplane for all I care! It's where he belongs!"

Shilinda snarled and ran away.

"We…we should get going" said Auron. He picked up his sword and began to stagger away.

"What do you mean 'we should get going?'" asked Shiava. "You can barely stand! Plus, Tidus got shot in the leg. We should wait until Yuna and the others come back."

"We have to find Yuna!" yelled Tidus. "Shiava, help me up. I have to make sure she's alright."

Rikku hurried over. She helped Shiava get Tidus on his feet. Shiava looked at Rikku and laughed. "Remind me not to get on **your **bad side!" he said, gesturing to the shattered pieces of the warrior monks.

Rikku didn't say anything. Nor did she laugh. She simply set her jaw and continued to help Tidus walk.

"Thanks guys…Ah! Yeah that's a little bet---Oh!" Tidus gasped as they hobbled down the streets of the sacked Home.

Suddenly they heard a voice. "Over here!"

"Wakka" said Shiava. The four hurried over as fast as they could.

They found Yuna and the others in an alley. "Thank goodness you're alive!" said Yuna. "We were so worried about you!"

She quickly healed Tidus and Auron's injuries. "How're we gonna escape?" asked Wakka. "They've got soldiers everywhere!"

"There are more of these bastards?" asked Shiava.

"Yes" said Lulu. "There are many more groups of warrior monks, and several of those machines we encountered on the way here. So we must be careful."

"Maybe I should go with them" Yuna said worriedly. "That would end the danger for you."

Kimhari stepped forward. "Yuna no go with soldiers" he said. "Kimhari senses evil behind them."

"I agree" said Auron, shouldering his sword. "I don't know why Yevon requires your presence in Bevelle, but it could have contacted you before now could it not? And why do all this?" Auron pushed his dark glasses further up his nose. "No, something is gravely wrong with Yevon. I don't care to find out what is wrong with Yevon by placing my friend's daughter, and the High Summoner's life at risk."

Everyone nodded.

Suddenly the walls around the alley began to crumble. "Everyone outside!" Auron yelled. They all quickly ran outside into the street. What they saw was not pleasant. A company of nineteen warrior monks stood in the street, along with Shilinda. But that was not the truly bad thing. Not even the fact that they all had their weapons trained on the party was that horrible. No, the truly ugly thing was the large fiend that was held in chains in the middle of the group. It was easily over eleven feet tall. It was muscular and its skin was an electric blue. White fur covered its arms and legs. Its eyes glowed a bright, evil red. It roared, showing a mouth crammed with yellow peg like teeth.

"Behold the Wendingo!" said Shilinda. "A fiend brought in from the Via Purifico just for this special occasion. I hope you enjoy it!" she laughed evilly.

"By all the gods" breathed Lulu. She turned to the others. "It looks like we've hit a rather large wall."

"Give up the summoner" Shilinda said softly. "And I'll spare your lives." The Wendingo gave another loud roar, and began to pull at its chains. "You'd better hurry" said Shilinda. "The Wendingo is eager to rip you to shreds."

Yuna suddenly stepped forward. "I will _not_ go with you" she said. "Nor, will you harm my guardians in the least."

"Maybe you didn't hear me!" shouted Shilinda. "Either you come with us, or your guardians die now!"

Yuna said nothing. Instead, she raised her staff. A crackling sound filled the air. Everyone present felt their hair stand on end. A crackling field of electricity formed around Yuna. Suddenly a high pitched whinnying sound, like a gigantic horse emerged from the swirling light. A horse like creature galloped out of the light. It was steely gray and had a gigantic curved horn. Its body crackled with bright sparks of electricity. It was Ixion, another aeon.

"Holy shit!" gasped one of the warrior monks. The soldiers of Yevon staggered back.

"Hold your positions you cowards!" shouted Shilinda. She was eyeing Ixion a bit nervously.

"Leave this place now!" shouted Yuna, her face dark. "Or it is _you_ who will be harmed!"

"You don't scare us!" yelled one warrior monk. He opened fire at the aeon. Ixion dodged the bullets. The aeon of electricity reared up on its back legs with a piercing whinny. A bolt of lightning shot from its horn.

"What the---AAHHHH!" it hit the warrior monk, magnified by his metal armor. The man collapsed. There was no question as to whether he was dead or alive.

Ixion charged again. This time, the aeon gored a monk on its horn. Soon what had been a confident, well ordered party of soldiers was a screaming group of terrified individuals.

"No, no you fools!" shrieked Shilinda. She gritted her teeth in frustration. She threw a look of pure, untainted hate at Yuna. "You had your warning" she snarled. "Now you will pay dearly for your crimes against the state of Yevon." She made a gesture. One of the remaining warrior monks unbuckled the chains from the Wendingo. Then he took off running.

"I'll be back to collect the remains" Shilinda sneered. She hurried off with her retreating men.

The freed fiend immediately rushed forward. It was amazingly fast for one of its size and bulk. The creature seized Ixion by the horn. Ixion whinnied, and hit the Wendingo in the chest with a powerful bolt of lightning. The electricity slammed into the monster, but while it had felled a warrior monk with one hit, it only knocked the Wendingo back a few steps. The Wendingo rushed forward, slamming its huge fists into Ixion. The aeon of electricity fell on its side, shuddered, and disappeared in a stream of pyreflies.

"You did well Ixion" said Yuna quietly. She was suddenly elbowed out of the way by Kimhari. The Ronso took the Wendingo's fist in the chest. "Umph!" he grunted. "Go Yuna!" he yelled, readying his lance. The Ronso rushed forward and slashed the Wendingo with an upward stroke. It cut deeply across the monster. It howled in anger. Its next punch knocked Kimhari into a burned out storefront. The creature was going to advance on the fallen Ronso, when it was engulfed in a fiery explosion. It howled in pain.

"Got the sucker!" yelled Rikku.

"Let's get out of here, ya?" said Wakka. He and Tidus were running in the direction that the warrior monks had gone.

"Come back!" shouted Auron. He was running toward the Wendingo with his sword. "We have unfinished business here!"

The creature went to face Auron…and was blown up again by a grenade from Rikku.

The Wendingo wasn't smart at all, but it knew that the explosions that were causing it so much agony had to have a source. Its small red eyes took in its surroundings. It noticed that the girl throwing objects was closest. It lunged.

Rikku was readying another grenade. Unlike the other regular grenades, this one was another one of her specials. Abruptly, a shadow crossed over her. She looked up. Standing over her was the vicious Wendingo. "Oh gods!" Rikku screamed. The monster brought both of its fists down on the Al Bhed girl---and was blocked by Shiava!

Shiava hurled himself between his friend and the fiend. He held his sword horizontally the way he had seen Auron do it, holding the end of the blade in one hand and the handle in the other. The Wendingo's fists crashed down on the red handled sword's blade…and shattered it.

"Wha…what?" Shiava asked numbly. He just couldn't move. He just sat, staring at the pieces of his Firstblade sword. _"It has been a fine year for our Firstblade cadets in the final year of their training. It is my honor to appoint them with the trappings of a Firstblade, namely…a red handled sword." Measter Andrick stepped forward to present the red handled swords to the cadets who had finally graduated from the Palace School. They would finally begin their lives as full fledged Firstblades. "Shiava Horst" he said, giving Shiava a long red velvet box with his name inlaid with gold lettering. "Do you accept this red handled sword, and with it the responsibility to be a Firstblade and serve Yevon?" _

_"I...I do" Shiava said, his voice choked with awe and happiness that this day had finally come. _

"It…it's gone…" Shiava whispered. "I can't believeit's gone…it's really gone…god damn gone…"

"You alright?" Wakka asked. He and Tidus had come over to Shiava.

"My…my sword. It's gone" Shiava said, his voice flat and emotionless.

"So get a new one!" said Tidus. "I mean…it's probably going to cost you. But I can lend you mon---"

"You don't get it!" Shiava shouted. _My sword is gone!_ That wasn't just any sword! That was my Firstblade sword, the sword I worked for nine years in the Palace School to earn! And it's more than that! It just…it's just…forget it. You wouldn't understand.

Suddenly there was a roar of rage. The Wendingo was rushing toward them. "Oh crap!" Tidus said. "I forgot about the monster!"

Then the Wendingo stopped short. It stood very still, and began to shudder. The source of its problems was Auron's sword blade, which was sticking out of its chest. The monster gave one last violent shudder and slumped to the ground. Its body soon dissipated into pyreflies. They disappeared into the sky, which was slowly beginning to turn pink with dawn.

"And that takes care of that" said Auron gruffly. "Now let's get out of here."

"Wait" said Tidus. "Shiava's lost his sword."

Auron turned away and began to walk off toward the main group. "He can get a new one later. But we need to leave this city. Now!" he finished.

"What should we do now?" asked Lulu. The sorceress was picking at her dress sleeve. "We don't have a back up plan."

"We'll think of something" said Tidus.

"Yes but what?" pursued Lulu.

Tidus opened his mouth to answer, but they never found out what he was going to say.

"You people are really something, you know that? No wonder you were able to defeat Sin. The Wendingo killed hundreds of people who were thrown into the Via Purifico." Shilinda was standing by a group of YKT-63s.

"I know you don't think we're going to give up Yuna" said Lulu.

"You've got another thing coming if you do!" added Tidus.

"I'm not asking you to" said Shilinda. One of the YKT-63s leaped forward and kicked Tidus. He slammed into a wall and lay there, unable to get up.

At that same instant, warrior monks, as well as men and women with red handled swords began to overflow from every alleyway and building on the street.

Soon the party was surrounded by a small army. "I'm telling you to" said Shilinda.

A man walked up and grabbed Yuna by the hand. "You're coming with us High Summoner!" he shouted gruffly. Yuna stepped on the top of his foot with her boot heel. He cursed and struck her across the face, at the same time dropping her.

"Yuna!" cried Shiava. He turned to the man. "You bastard…"

Yuna's head hit the hard pavement. She lay still. "I…I didn't mean to hit her so hard…" the man said apologetically.

"You idiot!" yelled Shilinda. "You Firstblades are supposed to be above us! Look what you've done! Arnis said he wanted the summoner undamaged!"

One of the warrior monks picked up Yuna and did a quick examination. "She's bleeding, but not badly. And she's going to have a nasty, nasty bruise on her face."

"Oh I forgot" said Shilinda. She produced a grenade. As the guardians started forward, she hurled the grenade in their direction. It exploded among them. Shiava screamed and braced himself for a horrible pain as an explosion sizzled his body, but none came. Instead a cool light blue smoke emitted from the grenade.

"Ha! Now we'll have you…" Shiava began to feel sleepy. _"Shit! A sleep grenade! Damn you Shilinda!" _he thought. Shiava felt himself fall to the ground. Next to him, he saw Wakka slump down. Rikku was the next, falling on top of Wakka. Lulu and Auron fell forward simultaneously. Kimhari fell in a heap next to them.

Only one person remained awake for a while. Tidus, sprawled against a wall from the YKT-63's kick lay too far for the direct effect of the sleeping gas. However, he could feel sleep pulling at him. Tidus saw the warrior monks gather Yuna in their arms and take her away. "Yuna!" he called. "Yuna…Yuna…"

Then it was naptime.

* * *

**An interesting note should be made that Shilinda is EVIL. I always hated her in FFX, so holy and everything. So I wondered what would happen if I made an holy, EVIL Shilinda. This is my EVIL creation! By the way, does anyone HATE Arnis yet? He actually is a hero, just as much as Shiava! I know you'll laugh, but its true. Maleficent is the villain here. Sin isn't evil in itself either. My reasons? I will explain them at the final chapter of this tale.**


	31. The Arrival

The arrival

"I wonder if they actually managed to get the High Summoner" said Maleficent. She was looking out of one of the large windows in her office. Arnis said nothing, toying with a figurine of a wolf on the table.

"I said I wonder if they actually managed to get the High Summoner" said Maleficent in a more irritated voice.

"Oh, what? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention" said Arnis. "I think Shilinda managed to accomplish the mission. She did seem very dedicated to her work."

Maleficent smiled a very unpleasant smile. "_Very _dedicated. I just hope her dedication was enough to accomplish the task we set before her."

"Don't worry" said Arnis. "We have already received reports that the Home has been completely wiped out. The Al Bhed are no more."

"Excellent!" said Maleficent. "Now we can begin phase two of our plan." She gestured toward the door. "You are dismissed. I will call you again if I have any other developments."

Arnis bowed his head and left. Things were coming together better than he could have hoped for. _"I might just throw a party for Yuna when she gets here" _he thought. _"It might help her get used to her new surroundings…not that she's going to be here very long!"_ he thought with a laugh. Maleficent wanted to begin phase two of her plan. Arnis was already in the second phase of his. The Firstblade General strode down the hallways of the Palace. Soon Sin would be free to roam Spira forever without the threat of being destroyed forever. Soon people would praise his name as the savior of Spira!

"Firstblade General Arnis! Please come quick!" a voice carried down the hall. Arnis turned his head to the source of the voice. A warrior monk was walking down the hall toward him. "Thank goodness you're here! I've been looking all over for you. The High Summoner Yuna has arrived." The monk seemed puzzled. "Strangely enough, she didn't arrive with her guardians. Is there some kind of special meeting the High Summoner is going to have with the measters, sir?"

"Perhaps you should tell me where Yuna is and then, go back to your post" said Arnis sternly.

The monk saluted sharply and swallowed. "The airship carrying Lady Yuna is landing at dock eight in the airfield sir" he said.

"Thank you very much" said Arnis. He began to in the opposite direction of where he had been going a few minutes ago.

"What are you doing sir---if I may ask" asked the warrior monk.

Arnis turned to him with an odd smile on his face. "Why, to arrange a welcoming committee of course" he said in a joyful voice. With that he was gone, leaving the confused warrior monk to worry---not incorrectly---about his Firstblade General's sanity.

* * *

The airship carrying Yuna was a long white and gold one. It was christened the _White Rose. _It was made of gleaming metal and inlaid with gold. It was the same airship that had brought Arnis and the measters back from Luca after the Sin attack.

Arnis waited as the crew disembarked from the ship. They were accompanied by a group of warrior monks. Arnis tensed suddenly. He knew that Yuna would probably be in a horrible mood. From the monk's description, it sounded like the team he had sent had been forced to take aggressive action to acquire her. He even heard in the other report that they had lost a few men to Yuna and her guardians.

One of the warrior monks was struggling to get out of the ship. He looked like he was holding something. A closer look revealed that he was struggling with a person's body. Arnis suddenly realized that he was holding Yuna! Arnis' smile turned into a scowl as he saw that Yuna was unconscious. Not only that, but she had a large bruise that spread across the bridge of her nose and onto her right cheek. Her short brown hair was matted at the top with dried blood.

Arnis quickly crossed the distance between him and the warrior monk holding her. "How did this happen?" he demanded tersely, his eyes taking in Yuna's damaged condition.

The monk was startled. "I…we…sir…we got into a huge fight withthe High Summoner and her guardians, and---"

Arnis cut him off with a wave of his hand. "That doesn't explain the condition of Lady Yuna right now, does it?" he asked in a tone sharp enough to cut stone.

The warrior monk paled. "I…I'm terribly sorry" he stammered. "We…we'll get her to the infirmary right away! The High Summoner will receive the best of care!" he hurried off with Yuna's unconscious body.

Arnis nodded in satisfaction. Then he sighed. So they had taken her against her will. Great. This would make his job ten times harder.

* * *

"Oh…what…?" Yuna sat up in bed. She was in a blue room. The walls were a light robin's egg blue and the carpet was a deep navy. The blankets were turquoise and the sheets were gold. "Where am I?" Yuna asked out loud. There was no answer.

"So you're awake, Lady Yuna" said a gentle voice near the door. Yuna tensed as she felt the same odd cold feeling she had felt at Luca stadium. She looked for the source of the voice. Standing in the now open doorway was a boy of about seventeen, one year younger than her. He had blond hair and brown eyes a handsome face. He was wearing a strange outfit. He was dressed in a navy blue shirt with shorts of the same color that came down to his ankles. He wore yellow and black boots that came to the same height as the wide shorts and he wore a red armguard on his left forearm. The entire outfit was covered with silver buckles and chains.

"Who…who are you?" Yuna asked warily. She dimly remembered everything that had gone on. She wondered where her friends were, and what she was doing in this strange place.

"Firstblade General Arnis Kelsin at your service milady" said the boy. "We met in Luca, do you recall?"

Yuna suddenly _did_ remember Arnis. He was the one who had addressed them after Maleficent's swearing in ceremony! Yuna sucked in her breath suddenly as she remembered the cold feeling she had around him, how his hands were chill underneath the white gloves he had been wearing that day…

"Y…you're a…an unsent" she gasped. She couldn't believe it. Yevon, with all of its teachings, with all of the summoners in its service hadn't caught this restless spirit among them.

"Ahhh, how you cut straight to the heart of the matter" said Arnis. He smiled. "Yes, I am an unsent. One who prefers to stay in the land of the living, even after death." He laughed. "Does that disturb you, Lady Yuna?"

Yuna gritted her teeth. "I am not disturbed in the least by the walking dead" she said softly. "Rather, I am…saddened at your attempt to cling to life indefinitely."

Arnis laughed again. This time it went on for some time. "I…I'm…I'm so sorry" he gasped after he was finished. "'Cling to life indefinitely'? _Me?_ It's just too funny!"

Yuna was caught off guard by this. An unsent that had no interest in staying in life for as long as possible? All the legends of Spira told of how the unsent wished to remain in life for as long as they could, without getting Sent.

"Then…what _do_ you want?" asked Yuna warily. She backed up a little under the sheets.

Arnis turned to Yuna. "I want only one simple thing. However, before I tell you this simple desire of mine, you must understand something. You are currently in the Palace of St. Bevelle. You were summoned because---"

Suddenly Yuna sat bolt upright in the bed, throwing the sheets off her. "Summoned?! Kidnapped is more like it! If you're the Firstblade General then that means that you---"

"Yes" said Arnis almost sadly. "It means that I was one of the people who orchestrated the Al Bhed genocide."

Yuna turned her face to the wall away from him. "I can't believe that someone could be that callus to help with such evil" she said angrily.

"Please try to understand, Lady Yuna" said Arnis softly. "I had no choice. Grand Measter Maleficent demanded that I take part in the planning. She had a bee in her bonnet about eliminating the Al Bhed 'insurrection' and I, as Firstblade General had to comply." He sighed. "Perhaps it was better when a measter held the office of Firstblade General. That way, it would be up to them to make the hard decisions." He sounded so genuinely saddened that Yuna turned to look at him. Arnis' head was down, and his eyes were downcast.

"I…I don't know what to say" said Yuna awkwardly. She was in a difficult situation. She hated, no despised this person in front of her; he was a living (so to speak) incarnation of the secret plans to exterminate the Al Bhed, yet at the same time he seemed genuinely sorry for his actions. Yet, she could not, no matter how hard she tried, ignore the fact that he was an unsent, one of the dead. She had to obey the teachings of the gods and Send him to the afterlife.

Yuna flung her self out of bed with surprising force. Arnis jumped, startled. Yuna used his moment of confusion and surprise to start the dance---and discovered that her staff was missing. "Wha---" Yuna cried in dismay. Her staff, her beautiful staff was missing. "What did you do with my staff?" Yuna demanded angrily. She was also becoming a little afraid.

"Missing your summoner's rod?" asked Arnis. He was smiling in a warm indulgent way.

"What did you do with it?" asked Yuna again. This time she was dismayed to hear a touch of fear in her voice.

"I couldn't have you wandering around with that rod in your hands" said Arnis. "I know that you'd as soon Send me as look at me, so I took this extra precaution."

Yuna knew she was beaten. An extremely strong summoner, like her father Lord Braska could have probably Sent Arnis with just his bare hands and the dance. But less powerful summoners had to focus their energy and will power into a rod to force the reluctant spirit to leave the land of the living. Yuna had a feeling that, even with a rod Arnis would be hard to Send. Trying without one would be impossible.

"What do you want?" Yuna asked in a more subdued voice. She realized that she was relatively powerless, and it was not a pleasant thought.

Arnis began to walk toward the door. "I want you to get freshened up" he said. He laughed at the perplexed look on Yuna's face. "Grand Measter Maleficent is having a grand party on your behalf, celebrating the arrival of the High Summoner in Bevelle. You want to look nice don't you?"

Yuna was silent. Arnis sighed. "I'll have a servant bring you a dress for the ball tonight. I'll be your escort" he said bowing. "It is now two twenty seven. I will pick you up at five o' clock sharp! Goodbye Lady Yuna!" and with that he left.

Yuna sat on the bed for a good twenty minutes, not doing anything. Then, her face hardened. She would get to the bottom of this. She would find out why the measters had decided to attack the Al Bhed, she would find out why an unsent held the most important military position in Yevon, and she would find out why she had been kidnapped and taken to Bevelle. Yuna didn't realize that she would find out this answer very soon. And the truth would be more horrifying than she could ever imagine.

* * *

**Ha ha, Yuna fell for it. The guilty act and everything. Yuna just dosn't know what she's in for. **


	32. The Govenor of Lasgena

The governor of Lasgena

"Ooh…where am I?" asked Shiava as he woke up. He vaguely remembered something bad that had happened, but it seemed that memory wasn't on his list of abilities right then. A thought floated by in his numb brain. Before Shiava could catch it however, it disappeared into the ether. _"Oh well" _Shiava thought sleepily _"Probably wasn't very important anyway. I think I'll just dose a little longer…" _A space of time went by. Another thought came floating out of the abyss. _"Hmm…wonder what this one is" _Shiava thought, a bit annoyed this time. He tried to reach for it. It hit him then that he shouldn't be asleep. It was way later than he'd ever slept at the Palace. The Palace! Realization hit Shiava Horst like a ton of bricks and with it came memory. Bright, painful, terrifying, clear memory. "Oh gods" Shiava breathed. He remembered the Home with all its terrible destruction and carnage, he remembered the Wendingo that almost killed them, and he remembered Yuna being taken away in a cloud of blue smoke…

"This can't…this can't be happening" Shiava said sitting up. It was then that the realization of what was truly wrong hit him. He and his friends had fallen asleep amid the chaos, destruction, and death of the Home. Yet now…the rest of the party was nowhere in sight. And Shiava found that he was laying in a bed. A bed with soft sheets. Shiava sat up in the bed, trying to make sense of the senseless. He took in his surroundings. He was in a relatively large room. The walls were painted a light red. A clock on the wall said two twenty seven in the afternoon. The carpet was the same color, and the summer sunlight was streaming through a big bay window in next to the bed. The bed was covered with a thick comforter made out of silk. It was also a dark red, and had gold stars and moons. "Where on Spira am I?" asked Shiava to himself. He glanced at himself. He was wearing blue pajamas that seemed to be several sizes too small for him. "Ok, this is really starting to get weird" Shiava muttered. He started to get out of the bed, when something on the dresser in the corner of the room. It was a small picture that someone had taken. It showed a man and a woman holding each other in front of Luca Stadium. The man was dressed in a white shirt with black jeans. The woman was dressed in blue and black. In fact she seemed a lot like Yuna in the way she dressed. She even had a summoner's rod. Shiava got up and walked carefully across the room. He picked up the picture in both hands.

"Wow" he muttered. "Déjà vu"

Both the man and the woman in the picture looked familiar in a strange way. They were both very attractive looking, and couldn't have been more than twenty three. The man was very tall and thin, with brown hair and eyes. His companion was of average height and had shoulder length black hair. Her eyes were also brown. She had very pretty face with full lips and a slightly long nose.

Now Shiava was absolutely certain that he'd seen these people somewhere before. He looked and looked at the picture, but try as he might he couldn't give the faces a name. Finally he gave up.

"Oh whatever. I don't even know where I am, and I'm looking at some stupid picture." It was then that Shiava caught his foot on the carpet and dropped the picture. "Oh shit" Shiava muttered. The frame had shattered, and the picture had come out. Bending down to pick up the picture, Shiava noticed some writing on the frame. From what the picture told him, the woman in the picture had written it. _Peregrine_ _and Hugh­­­---Luca. _

Shiava began to tremble. He dropped the picture on the dresser with a shaking hand. _Hugh_. Lord Hugh Cedric. Governor of Lasgena, a province near the Calm Lands. Now Shiava understood his familiarity with the faces of the people in the picture. He had indeed seen their faces, or rather their features before­­­­---on Arenna. These were Arenna's parents. The summoner and the Yevon official who had produced an illegitimate child who had grown up…to become Sin.

"Arenna's parents." Shiava muttered. "I can't believe it. If a picture of Arenna's parents is here then---"

"So. You're awake" said a voice behind him. Shiava whirled around to see Auron standing in the open door.

"A…Auron! What are you doing in this place? Where are we?!"

"So many questions" said Auron cryptically. Then he sighed. "To answer your second, we are in Forest Dive, manor of Lord Bernick Cedric, current province governor of Lasgena."

"_Lord Bernick!?" _Shiava cried. "We're at Lord Bernick's manor? How can that be? We were knocked out by those warrior monks and Firstblades!"

Auron nodded. "Yes, apparently men from his manor found us, and brought us here."

"That's impossible!"

Auron turned back to the door. "You had better get changed. We have much to talk about."

He left, leaving Shiava to wonder what in the name of the gods was going on. A search of the closet found his clothes washed and hanging. He wondered briefly who had done this. Probably servants or something.

As Shiava opened the door, he found that he was in a hallway that, while smaller than the ones in the Palace of St. Bevelle were no less grand. As he walked down through the hallways of the estate, he saw tall marble statues of people he assumed were summoners past. A tall spiral staircase lead to the floors below. A large red and gold tapestry bore pictures of the constellations interwoven in its fabric. "Wow, I didn't know Arenna came from a place like this…" Shiava muttered.

"Nice, ya?" asked a voice near his right. Shiava turned to see Wakka. He was standing near a door.

"Hey Wakka! You're alive!" Shiava exclaimed. "But how?"

Wakka nodded. "Those warrior monks were about to finish us off, when Lord Bernick's men came and rescued us" he said. Shiava noticed that Wakka seemed a very sad. He wasn't his usual cheerful self.

"What happened?" asked Shiava. "Did we get reported to Bevelle or something?"

Wakka lowered his head. "No" he sighed sadly, "but Yuna…they couldn't find her anywhere. They searched all over but…no luck."

Shiava was horrified. Yuna gone? He couldn't imagine the gentle High Summoner captured by those warrior monks and Firstblades. "Yuna's gone?" he asked numbly. Suddenly the matter of his sword being broken seemed remote and far away. They had failed in their duties as guardians. Harm had come to their summoner. Shiava lowered his head in sadness. "I can't believe it" he said, "How's Tidus taking this?"

Wakka shook his head. "Not good. Been talking about revenge a lot, ya know?" Wakka sighed. "But he's better now, praise be to Erth." He shook his head and attempted a weak smile. "But enough about that! You've been asleep for hours. We thought you'd never get up."

Shiava managed a smile too. "Yeah, I guess so. So what's everyone doing?"

"Waiting downstairs for us!" said Wakka. The two hurried down the stairs. Shiava found himself thinking once again of where he was. He was in Arenna's house! _"More like estate" _he thought, as they passed through rooms full of beautiful furniture and other fine things. Pictures of the Cedric ancestors glowered and smiled from the walls. Shiava stopped suddenly, staring at one of the pictures painted on the wall. It was very fresh. It was a picture of Arenna's father Hugh. In the picture he was wearing a green and yellow robe, and he was frowning. He didn't appear to be very happy. In fact he seemed to be on the verge of jumping up and stomping away.

"Hey, come on!" yelled Wakka, interrupting Shiava's thoughts. They hurried down the rest of the stairs.

All of the party was seated in a large room with a long table in the center. Everyone except Yuna that is. One other person sat with the guardians. An old man in his late sixties with long gray hair and a beard. He wore a white robe with the constellation of Orion emblazoned in black on the back. He held a black staff with a white ball of ivory on the end. Lord Bernick was arguing heatedly with Auron.

"We shouldn't just attack Bevelle! It's the capital of the world for heaven's sake! We can ask Measter Maleficent what's going on!"

"Something is wrong. There is some kind of conspiracy going on within the government. You said this yourself, and you expect us to leave Yuna in their grasp?" asked Auron.

"What's going on?" asked Shiava. He and Wakka walked into the room.

Lord Bernick jumped. "Shiava! Good, you're awake. Now we can truly talk like civilized human beings."

Shiava began to smile, when a sliver of ice pierced his throat. Lord Bernick knew him and Arnis because they were friends with Arenna. If he told them that Shiava was friends with the person who had become Sin…

Strangely enough the subject didn't come at all during the meeting. "So I assume we all know each other" said Lord Bernick.

"Not really" said Lulu.

Lord Bernick nodded. "Okay, then let me introduce myself. I am Lord Bernick Cedric, governor of Lasgena. My son Lord Hugh Cedric, well…" he stopped for a moment and swallowed. "My son and his girlfriend, a summoner had a child out of wedlock. Her name was Arenna, and she is the one…" he blinked rapidly, and when he spoke next, his voice barely disguised his tears. "The one who has become Sin" he whispered.

"I…I'm sorry" said Tidus. "But aside from that, we have to find Yuna! I don't care about this Arenna or Sin for that matter! As long as she's safe that's what matters."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Shiava tried to remember that Tidus was concerned about Yuna, and that he couldn't appear to take offense at what Tidus had said, or it would look suspicious.

"Care or not, we still need to remember what our goal is" said Auron. "Our goal is to defeat Sin…once and for all" he added pointedly.

"But how can we defeat Sin without Yuna?" asked Shiava. "We're powerless without her. It's her summoning that allows us to accomplish most of our goals on the road."

"No it isn't!" spoke a voice. Shiava turned to see that it was Rikku who had piped up. The Al Bhed girl was looking much better than she had at the Home. She still looked sad and her eyes were red, but she seemed to have gained at least some of her old energy.

"We can to do stuff without Yunie!" Rikku said again. "We can fight and we can help people."

"But Shiava means that we cannot even hope to stand against Sin without Yuna" explained Lulu. The sorceress rested her chin in her hands. "I agree with Sir Auron. We must get Yuna back from Bevelle, one way or another. She is our only hope of defeating Sin, and saving Spira."

"I _know_" began Lord Bernick, "but---"

"No buts" said Tidus. "We're going to Bevelle and demanding Yuna back. We'll get to the bottom of what's going on." He stopped and thought a bit. "I can't believe they're doing this!" he exploded suddenly. "Are they made up there?! Don't they see that we're the ones who beat Sin?

"We don't know what's going on. That's why we're having this meeting" said Lord Bernick agitatedly.

"So then let's get ready to blitz!" yelled Tidus, slamming his fist on the oaken table.

"We cannot just come to Bevelle without a battle plan" said Auron. "We need some way to get Yuna back without much of a struggle."

"What do you mean 'much of a struggle'?" said Rikku.

"Yevon will not give Yuna lightly. Kimhari knows" said Kimhari suddenly.

"Kimhari is right" said Lulu. "If there is some kind of conspiracy in Yevon, we don't know how deep its corruption goes. We might very well have to fight our way into the capital, especially if the supposed conspiracy goes all the way to the top."

The guardians all sighed, looking down at the table. They had known it would be hard going, eventually fighting Sin, and maybe even dying. Never, in their wildest dreams did they think that they would have to deal with their own government on the list of problems.

* * *

**None of you forgot about Arenna's grandfather, did you? I know, he hasn't appeared since that one chapter, but I promise he will join their party from now one. He's an important person.**


	33. Disturbing Revelations II

Disturbing revelations II

Yuna finished putting on the red and black dress that the Palace servants had given her. It was very beautiful actually; it came to her knees with ribbons and lace around the short sleeves. It was accented by a black rose in her hair. Yuna would have preferred to wear her normal clothes to an affair like this, but as Arnis had said she was to "look nice" for the ball in her honor. Yuna actually looked forward to the grand party. It would give her a chance to confront Grand Measter Maleficent face to face.

"That should do it" Yuna murmured as she fastened the rose in her hair. Yuna cold have had servants dress her, but she had grown up on Besaid Island, along with Wakka and Lulu and had lived as an average citizen of Spira. Yuna could have grown up in Bevelle or some other city, with servants to dote on her as High Summoner Braska's daughter, but it was not so. Braska's last wish was that his daughter live on the remote Isle of Besaid, away from the political games and machinations of the Yevon. The time would come, he said, for his two year old daughter to learn such things. Thus, Yuna knew nothing of the political maneuvers and other things that went on inside the government.

* * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Place, Arnis was in a conversation with Maleficent.

"Is Lady Yuna recovered enough for the ball tonight?" asked Maleficent as they walked down the hallway, her staff making thumps on the marble floors.

"Oh, she's quite recovered, and is probably putting on the last finishing touches of her appearance as we speak."

Maleficent nodded. "The second phase of my plan, the spell to control Sin is nearing completion. All I need are a few extra ingredients and it will work. Then all of Spira will be mine to rule completely!"

Arnis nodded. "Excellent." He suddenly jumped. "It's almost five o'clock. I promised Yuna that I would escort her to the ball at five."

Maleficent nodded. "Very well. Go and get the High Summoner. We wouldn't want to keep her waiting for her own ball, now would we?"

They both shared a collective laugh. Then Maleficent stopped. "I must go the Ballroom Hall to make sure the final preparations are perfect, down to the last bit." She the turned to Arnis. "I'm sure High Summoner Yuna won't go along with our plan to control Sin. In fact, I know she won't." The sorceress/measter scowled, making the lines in her face deepen. "She's Braska's daughter alright. Now there was one who I never could stand."

"You knew High Summoner Braska?" asked Arnis in surprise. He didn't think that a kind, giving, and selfless man like Yuna's father would associate himself with someone so filled with avarice and darkness like Maleficent.

"Oh, I knew him alright" said Maleficent in disgust. "He was an idealistic fool. He was a high priest in a temple of Erth in Macalania. He actually had fairly high rank in the court. Braska had quite a bit of influence and connections in the right places. Yet he had a problem that I found absolutely repugnant. He was constantly preaching 'unity' and 'understanding' with the Al Bhed. Saying how we should respect the fact that they refuse to worship Erth or any of the other gods, only Verkadh."

"I can see why you'd find it repelling" said Arnis. He wasn't surprised that someone like Maleficent was disgusted by a person like Lord Braska. Arnis found that he admired Yuna's father for his goals and what he did for Spira by defeating Sin. As long as it came back however.

"I'm glad you understand" said Maleficent. "Braska didn't. The rest of us put up with his annoying speeches, until one day he went too far and fell in love with, and then married an Al Bhed!"

"You think falling in love is 'going too far'?" asked Arnis, barely able to keep the disgust out of his voice.

"It is when it's an Al Bhed we're talking about! The 'evil race of Spira!' Anyway, to make a long story short, Braska was declared 'fallen' by the church and cast out of his priesthood. He then lost all of his connections and influence. All for love."

Arnis nodded. He didn't trust his mouth to say something polite and respectful to the Grand Measter. He assured himself that soon he wouldn't need Maleficent; and he made a new addition to his plan. Before he left Bevelle he would do away with her. If anyone or anything was dangerous to the health of Spira, it was definitely the sorceress.

Maleficent frowned suddenly. "As I was saying, before we got sidetracked, Yuna will never go along with our plan. She is too much her father's daughter to ever for anything that wouldn't benefit the people of Spira" these last six words were spat like a curse. "How do you plan to deal with her?"

Arnis smiled. "You can put your trust in me, Your Grace" he said. "I have a plan that will break Yuna of whatever resistance she puts up. It will shake her faith in what she believes is the truth."

Maleficent's thin eyebrows rose. "And what, pray tell, is that?"

"I intend to tell her a bit about the night that Sin returned to Spira" said Arnis.

"What would you know about that? No one was there when Sin attacked Bevelle the first night."

Arnis laughed. "Oh, on the contrary Maleficent" he said, "I was with my friends Shiava and Arenna that night."

"Arenna…do you mean Arenna Cedric?! The one who---"

"Yes I mean the very same one" said Arnis, driving his point home. "I was there when she became Sin."

Maleficent's surprise quickly turned to anger. "Do you mean to tell me that you knew all along who Sin had chosen? Are you telling me that you wasted my time and effort finding and investigating every mysterious disappearance that occurred on the night Sin rose from the dead?!" Maleficent's voice rose to a crescendo, bouncing off the high ceiling of the hallway they were in.

"Yes" said Arnis unconcerned. "I kept it from you because it was more interesting to see what you would do."

Maleficent's jaw clenched. Her long fingers gripped her staff so tightly that her knuckles showed white under the skin. "You…you…I can't _believe _you would do this!"

Arnis simply shrugged.

Maleficent became enraged. "You…it is only because of my grace that I don't send for a summoner to go and do the necessary!"

"You won't get someone to Send me" said Arnis softly. "You _need_ me. You need someone you can trust as the head of the military so that you can do what you did with the Al Bhed without any kind of ramifications."

Maleficent's silence was a good as any admission of defeat. "Very well" she snarled. "Just don't betray me like that ever again. And get Yuna ready for the ball." She held out her hand and a glowing purple and black hole appeared in the wall and Maleficent vanished into it. The conversation was at an end.

* * *

"Hello Lady Yuna" said a voice at the door. Yuna applied a little more makeup and lipstick to her face as she heard Arnis' voice. "I…I'm ready" Yuna said softly.

"Excellent" said Arnis as he stepped into the room. He was also dressed for the ball. He was wearing the equivalent of his regular clothes, except what had been navy blue before was all white, and there was black trim around the short sleeves of his shirt and the ankle long cuffs of his shorts. "Then, let us be of to the Ballroom Hall for your party!"

The two walked down the hallways of the Palace together. "Put your arm in mine" Arnis said to Yuna.

"What?" she asked surprised.

"Put your arm in mine" Arnis repeated. "I think we look quite good that way."

"I have no intention of---" Yuna began, but stopped. She realized what kind of a situation she was in. Though treated like an honored guest in Bevelle, she realized that somehow the government of Yevon had most likely tricked the people of Spira into thinking that she was here on some kind of mission. It wouldn't do any good to try and convince anyone that she was, in reality a prisoner. There was also the fact that she couldn't perform Sendings, nor could she summon aeons without her rod. She would have to wait until the opportunity arose to get it back. And then…well, Yuna didn't really know. She would have to take each moment as it came.

Arnis laid his hand on her shoulder, and Yuna shivered as the cold of restless death washed over her.

"Are you alright?" asked Arnis. He seemed genuinely concerned.

"Yes…I'm…I'm fine" Yuna lied. It wasn't just cold she was shaking from. Being this close to someone who had already died once, and had come back from the grave for some unknown purpose tended to make one a little nervous.

As they entered the Ballroom Hall, Yuna gasped. "It's…it's beautiful. I've never seen such a pretty room." Yuna's eyes took in the blue crystal floors, the entire walls of glass in some areas, and the marble rise where an orchestra played.

"Beautiful, yes" said Arnis. "But not as beautiful as you…"

"What?" Yuna gasped. "What did you say?"

"I said you were beautiful. Do you not think so?" he inquired gently.

"I don't know what to think" Yuna said softly. "I've never really bothered to think about my appearance all that much before…"

"You should give it more consideration" said Arnis. He escorted Yuna down the grand staircase that led to the Ballroom Hall. Beautifully dressed people were gathered in the Ballroom waiting expectantly.

_"Maleficent must have invited the whole court" _Yuna thought vaguely to herself. She couldn't believe that so many people were celebrating in her honor.

As they descended into the gigantic room, a person walked over to them. There was no mistaking Grand Measter Maleficent.

"High Summoner Yuna" said Maleficent in a light, jovial voice. It sounded odd, coming from such a cold looking person.

"Good evening, Your Grace" Yuna said coldly, inclining her head as a gesture of respect.

"High Summoner" said Maleficent. "You sound unhappy. I realize that the circumstances of your arrival in Bevelle were less than pleasant---"

At this, Yuna could take no more. "Less than pleasant?" she yelled, causing several people to stare at her, "_less than pleasant? _I was ripped away from my guardians and knocked unconscious, before being forced to take and _unsent _as my date to a ball I didn't even want, and I might add that this unsent is the _Firstblade General!_ That's the highest military position in Yevon! The place I was dragged her from wasn't too nice either! Your destroyed the Al Bhed Home, and massacred the people! You're the leader of the government of Spira! What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I have nothing to say for myself, nor must I justify my actions to a _girl_ such as yourself. You may have 'defeated' Sin, but you are only eighteen and have not the wisdom, nor for that matter the authority to do the things that I have ordered" said Maleficent, her ice dagger voice sharp enough to cut steel.

Yuna's eyes did not waver from Maleficent's. Finally it was the sorceress who broke eye contact. "I have other things to attend to" she said to Arnis. "See that you two do something productive during the ball. It is after all your party Lady Yuna, no matter how much you despise it." She blustered off into the crowd in a flurry of violet and black robes.

"I'm sorry that had to happen" said Arnis. "But you really must learn to control your---"

"I am in perfect control of my temper ninety nine percent of the time" said Yuna firmly.

"Then what was that back there?" asked Arnis, looking at where Maleficent had just stood.

Yuna was about to answer, when the orchestra began to play. It was a soft, classical rhythm. A woman began to sing, her high lovely voice echoing off the vast, far up ceiling of the Ballroom Hall.

"We can forget about this, I'm sure Maleficent will" said Arnis. He held out his hand. "Shall we dance, Lady Yuna?"

Yuna hesitated. Then, remembering her plan to comply with everything until her chance came, she took his hand. Arnis then took her other hand, and soon they were dancing among the other stylish and formally dressed aristocrats.

It was wrong, every moment of it.

Yuna waltzed with Arnis and he spun her around slowly as the music shifted and flowed. Yuna could feel the cold of his body eating into her bones. She couldn't ignore the knowledge that she was dancing with and restless spirit that shouldn't be in the world of the living. She kept getting an urge to reach for her staff, and Send him, but she kept realizing that she had none. It was awful. Even the very place seemed to be oppressive. It was as if she had super hearing. She could hear every word every single person was saying. People arguing over political things and other useless pieces of crap. The party itself was heinous in its inappropriateness. There were people dying in Kornos and other cities. Sin was loose in the world. It wasn't as if the government hadn't had parties before Sin's 'demise', but with Sin newly returned, the government should be spending its time, money, and effort calming the people and getting some kind of help for those places struck by Sin attacks.

"I can feel you tense, Lady Yuna" said Arnis. As they waltzed, they talked.

"I don't like this place" said Yuna. "We…we should be getting help for people and nations and cities that are victims of Sin attacks! Not wasting it on useless frivolity!"

"I agree" said Arnis softly. He turned Yuna slowly in step with the music.

Yuna was shocked. "You do? But you're…you're one of _them_."

"'One of them?' What is that supposed to mean?" Arnis asked laughingly.

"Like Maleficent and those around us."

"Arnis smiled. "Well, I like to think that I hold the people of Spira in Highest regard" said Arnis. Then his face became serious. "Listen to me very closely Yuna" he said in a whisper. "Maleficent might seem a mean and horrible person to you, but she is worse than that, much, much worse."

"Worse than ordering genocide against the Al Bhed?" Yuna asked doubtfully. Yet there was seriousness in Arnis' voice, not to mention his face that Yuna found unsettling.

"I mean that Maleficent plots to control Spira!" he said in a loud whisper.

"_What?!" _asked Yuna loudly. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "She's already the Grand Measter. What more could she possibly want?"

Arnis began to explain. "Every nation has its own leader, and that leader is under scrutiny from the measters, who are under the Grand Measter. But Maleficent wants to rule Spira directly."

"How will she do this?" asked Yuna. She was beginning to believe him more and more.

"She wishes to control Sin" said Arnis in a hissing whisper. He looked absolutely appalled.

"She…you can't be serious…whishes to _control _Sin? But how?" Yuna gasped.

Arnis looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'm unsure of the details, but apparently our lovely Grand Measter has devised a spell to control the soul that resides within the sacred beast."

"Sacred?" Yuna asked. "Did you just say what I think you said?"

But Arnis continued on without pause. "The spell will allow her to command Sin to do whatever the sorceress wishes, and she will crush any opposition to her absolute rule of the world."

Yuna began to feel faint. "This can't be happening" she said softly.

"Oh, but it _is_ happening, and it must be stopped" Arnis said just as softly.

"How does the spell work?" Yuna asked.

"As I said, I'm not exactly sure about the exact details…but I am absolutely sure of one of the components of the spell."

"What is it?" asked Yuna again.

"The name of the person who has become Sin" said Arnis.

"What is the name? Who was the person?" asked Yuna. "I know that you know something about this."

Arnis' face grew more serious still, yet his voice had become a little more humorous. "_Me? _How could a beurocrat like _me_ know anything about whom Sin has chosen?"

Yuna stopped dancing with him and pressed her face close to him, ignoring the cold aura of living death that he projected like an unholy air conditioner. "I need to know, Arnis" she said. "Please, for Spira."

Arnis' face softened…and then grew sad. "Very well, Lady Yuna" he said. "I had hoped I would not have to tell you this. But I will. It happened on Calm Day, when Shiva, myself and---"

"_Shiava?!" _Yuna gasped. "You knew Shiava Horst? How?"

"Oh, we were best friends" said Arnis simply. "Now, let me continue…"

Yuna sat on the balcony overlooking her room above the streets of Bevelle. She stood staring at the scene before her for a while. Then she let out a terrible scream of rage and hate, mixed with sorrow and despair. It all made sense now. How could that bastard have betrayed them like this?! How could they have been so _stupid_ to let him trick them? She didn't know. All Yuna knew was one thing. When she and Shiva Horst crossed paths once again, he would pay for his deeds.

For the deaths.

For the ruined lives.

For the foolishness and selfishness

For _everything, _he would answer to the world of Spira and her hand would deliver the judgment…guided by the hands of her friends and guardians. It would happen. Yuna, daughter of Braska vowed it.


	34. Ranna

_**Ranna **_

Shiava lay on the bed, thinking about what had happened in the meeting today. They were going to Bevelle, he knew it. Tidus' temper would not hold out for long, despite Lord Bernick's words of reconciliation with the higher government. He sighed and mentally cursed the blond haired blitzball player for not being able to sit still. If he would just wait until they could formulate a formal complaint to Grand Measter Maleficent, then maybe he wouldn't have to go with them back to the city that wanted him executed…and back to his unsent best friend.

Just thinking about Arnis made Shiva's stomach cramped with distaste and a little fear. He remembered how Arnis' wrist had felt so cold and lifeless because there _was_ no life flowing in that body anymore. It was just composed of pyreflies…

Granted, he could understand Tidus' position. If it were Arenna that had been captured in such a manner, he would be wild with righteous anger. And in fact, this _was_ about Arenna to some extent. All of this was, really; her name had become the most whispered in all of Spira right about now. He wondered if she was sitting off somewhere deep under the water, hopefully not killing anyone right now.

He slid off the bed and crossed to the window to look at the twilight sky. The sun had sunken sullenly behind the trees which were now shrouded in darkness.

What _did_ the measters of Bevelle want with Yuna? Why couldn't Yevon just leave them alone so that they could continue their quest to kill (here Shiva winced even though the words were said in his mind) Sin?

_Oh, don't worry…I have a plan. I've been planning it for two years, from the day the terrible news that Sin was gone forever arrived in Bevelle._

Yes, that was right. Arnis had a plan to reinstate the spiral of death that had gripped the planet in its coils for a thousand years. He called it "balance". Shiva remembered that day in the Temple Chamber, when Arnis had first revealed his plans. At the time, Shiava had been too angry and upset to really listen. But now he saw them in a clear light. A hellishly clear light.

Arnis had gotten himself promoted to Firstblade General now. That was the last thing old Measter Mika had done. And now, the Al Bhed Home was destroyed, ruining any chances of taking Sin down by airship as the team had done the last time. The first part of Arnis' plan was complete. And now Yuna was missing…

He cut those thoughts off. All they were doing was making him even more depressed and afraid than he was already. He knew that when he got to Bevelle, someone was bound to recognize him, whether it was that bitch Shellinda or Arnis himself. He didn't really care and it did not matter.

The end result would be the same.

His secret would be let out, Yuna and the others would realize that not only was he single handedly responsible for reviving Sin, he was trying to trick them into going inside of it so that he could free Arenna. They would probably abandon him in Bevelle, where his life would be cut short by an executioner's ax. Or more likely, the guardians would kill him themselves.

_But I don't care about that _he thought fiercely. _I don't care if I die doing this. If I do and you aren't free, I'll continue on as an unsent. And even if my spirit fades and my form reverts to those of a fiend, I'LL STILL KEEP TRYING!_

He decided that he needed a walk around the manor. This sitting and thinking terrible things like this was not doing him any good.

* * *

Yuna shuddered at the cold air that blew in from the balcony. She did not know how long she had been sitting there and she didn't really care. Anger flowed through her soul, turning her lungs red hot. She wouldn't have been surprised to find that instead of blood, liquid fire ran in her veins.

He had betrayed all of Spira! Shiava Horst was responsible for the deaths of all at Kornos Port and in so many other places. What was his Sin-girlfriend doing now? Blowing up a city? Sinking a fishing fleet? Eating a transport ship? Yuna gripped her head in agony, and shook it. Tears welled up in her eyes. The white-haired and violet eyed face of the sword mage appeared in her hazy vision, laughing and joking with Rikku at the ship on the Moonflow River. She ground her teeth with rage.

When her vision cleared, the face was gone and so were the tears. Yuna felt a stinging pain in her hands and saw that blood was trickling down her wrists from tiny cuts in the palms of her hands where she had cut herself with her own nails.

A knock at the door of her room alerted her from her feelings. "Come in" she said, thinking it was a servant. Her voice sounded like one of those ancient voice-over machina that were left over from the old times. She cried out as the door opened to reveal Arnis standing there. He had changed back into his everyday outfit and he looked very worried.

"I've been knocking for half an hour and you have yet to answer me. I was concerned that something had happened to you." He stepped closer to her. It was a mark of how upset the High Summoner was that she did not even feel the chill of death that emanated from his body.

"He betrayed us…" Yuna said. "How could he do this? How could Shiava just sit there and act as though we were his friends? He acted like a guardian and…and…" she could not continue. She burst into bitter tears.

Arnis crossed the room hesitantly and stood over her. His brown eyes softened. "I am sorry" he whispered. "I tried to eliminate him when Sin attacked Bevelle. But he escaped and somehow he found his way to you." He sat down on the bed next to her. The bed did not give any sign that extra weight had been added. "After Arenna's…accident, the two of us met the following day in the Temple Chamber. He spoke of going to you, and attracting your _services_ to help him along the way. I told him that this must be stopped, and that Arenna had become a monster that had to be put down. He attacked me in rage. And I lost the fight. I died, pleading with him for mercy...for understanding. But he would not stop. His violet eyes cold, he said 'You got in the way of my own plan. I can't let that happen'. And there I died, at Shiava's hand."

Yuna shivered, finally feeling what always came from him. "Yes, you did die" she said just as softly.

A small smile appeared on Arnis' tan face. "Would you Send me now, Lady Yuna? I have enjoyed talking to you since you were brought here in such a callous fashion. It makes me a bit sad that I have to say goodbye now with my mission so incomplete."

"I will not Send you" Yuna said with her head down.

"I'm sorry?" Arnis asked. There was nothing wrong with his hearing, but he wanted her to repeat it to herself, to drive the decision home. He was sure that she could not Send him without her staff, but it was not that which counted. The final stage of his plan was hinged on this woman trusting him implicitly, and if she was not willing to make an attempt at Sending him to the Farplane, then it meant that she had some modicum of trust for him.

"I will not Send you. Not yet" Yuna said. "If what you have told me is true, Grand Measter Maleficent—no, she does not deserve the title, more like High Traitor—is attempting to control Sin. Furthermore, one of my guardians is a traitor to the world as well." She sighed sadly. "It appears that my only choice is…to trust you, Arnis."

She sounded so lost and heartbroken that Arnis actually felt a little pity for her…but pity was all it was. This was the woman who had defied traditions of Yevon, killed Lady Yunalesca and was, even now, trying to destroy the balancer of life. But, like Maleficent, her part in his plans would end eventually and he would dispose of her. For the good of Spira.

"I am touched that you would trust me, particularly considering what I am" Arnis said, laying one hand on Yuna's shoulder. She shuddered as revulsion ran through her, replacing her previous angered bitterness.

"Don't touch me. Please," Yuna said. "We may trust one another and we may work together for Spira, but please…do not touch me." The words were supposed to sound cold and commanding, but they were more in a hushed whisper of disgust and a little fear.

Good. She trusted him. But she also feared him and that was even better. If Yuna feared him, Arnis knew that this fear would eventually wear down her resolve and bring her further under his will every day. Not that she would _have_ very many days before she died.

* * *

Shiava walked down the same hall in which he had first traveled when he first exited his room. He went down the stairs and sat on the staircase. He felt sorry for himself and just as wretched as when he had in his room.

It was this damn manor! Being in Arenna's house reminded of him of her constantly. Did she play on these very steps, wandering around bored because her father wanted her out of sight as often as possible? Where did she sleep? Had her laughter echoed along these walls? Of course it had. Shiava ran his hand down the marble walls and smiled faintly. This was not a smile of contentment, but of bitter self-mockery. He had just remembered the most important thing of all.

He had no weapon at all.

His sword had been shattered by the Wendigo back at the Home. That had been his Firstblade sword too, the thing that marked his status in Yevon as a warrior of the measters. Well, so much for that. It was probably lying in pieces with all the bodies and other wreckage that was there.

Shiava got up off the steps and walked out of the main hall and down another corridor. He saw doors but he did not really try entering any of them. He wasn't in the mood to find them locked, and he thought that one more disappointment might make him cry. He didn't try to ask the doors to open for him either, because they would most likely refuse.

He stopped suddenly as he saw a light on in one of the room as the end of the hall. He approached cautiously and looked at what was inside. It appeared to be a study of some sort.

"Well, you might as well stop standing inside, Shiava" said Lord Bernick's voice from inside the room.

Shiava jumped as the old man's voice drifted out to him. "Um…I'm so sorry sir. I wasn't spying on purpose, I just couldn't sleep and then I felt…bad, and so I—"

"You don't need to give any explanations to me" Bernick's voice said from within. "Just come into the room and we'll talk."

Shiava entered and saw that the room was a very well organized study. The floor was made of polished ebony and the furniture was also constructed of good wood. Metal cabinets stood in the corners near the large windows and papers were piled in neat little stacks on the desk. Lord Bernick was sitting at the table with a glass in front of him and a bottle of wine next to it.

"Uh…hello, sir" Shiava said nervously. "You wanted to speak with me? I hope it isn't about my wandering around the manor. I won't do it again, I promise."

Bernick considered the young sword mage for a while before speaking. "No…" he said. "It's not that. It's what happened earlier at the meeting. I had a few questions for you."

Shiava's body went hot then cold and ice slivers pierced his chest. "What kind of questions are those, sir?" Shiava asked. "We gave as good of an explanation for the behavior of Yevon as we could. We will find out tomorrow when we arrive in Bevelle."  
"I don't mean their behavior, I mean, your behavior, kid" Bernick said. He fixed Shiava with a shrewd gaze. "You know me, and yet you pretended that you had never met me before. I didn't know what to make of it at first, but then after we started talking, I watched you. When I started to mention Ari, you just tensed up." He moved at bit closer at his desk. "You know what happened to her, don't you? Every damn person on Spira's talking about it."

Shiava looked down at the floor. He could not look at that old, sad face. This man was the one who had raised his son's illegitimate daughter with the love her father should have given her. Now he was heartbroken because she had worse than died, and he had been the one to cause it…

"I do, Lord Bernick" he choked out. "I do know what happened to her."

"Good" Bernick said, seeming satisfied about something. "I'm glad you do, because we're going to talk about it right now, while there's no one else to overhear."

Shiava tried going for the confused look, but he didn't have enough guile energy left to do so; he had spent it all on Yuna's group. So he just settled with keeping his face carefully blank. "I don't understand, sir" he said flatly.

"We're going to talk about what happened the night my granddaughter became Sin" Bernick said coldly. His voice was no longer kind. "I believe that I have a right to know what happened to her on that night, Shiava. The fact that the two of you were close friends does not entitle you to keep that information to yourself."

Shiava opened his mouth to speak and no words came out. He tried again and this time succeeded in producing a weak little gargle. Lord Bernick looked at this behavior, and he seemed to confirm something to himself.

"Alright" he said. "Instead, let me ask you another question: how long can you continue to fool the members of Yuna's group? How long will you lie to them before it's too late for anything else to be done?" his voice rose. "Will you play false with them all the way to Sin's mouth?"

"I don't know what you're—" Shiava began, but he got no further. Lord Bernick Cedric pushed himself upward from his chair with a loud clatter. The wine bottle fell over and shattered on the floor, revealing it to be empty. Shiava guessed where it had all gone: into the old governor's mouth.

"_YOU KNOW EVERYTHING!"_ the old man roared in rage. _"I KNOW THAT YOU WERE THERE WHEN SHE WAS TURNED INTO A MONSTER, NOW TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO MY GRANDAUGHTER BEFORE I SKEWER YOU AS I DID THAT IDIOT, FREDIN!_"

Shiava blanched in fear but he held his tongue. "I…"

"Get out of my sight, Horst" Bernick sighed. "I thought you were an honest boy, one who would grow into a kind man. You befriended Arenna and did your best to protect her from the cruelties of the other children…but now you've degenerated into a terrible liar."

Those were the very same words that Measter Andrick had uttered in the High Court on that terrible night when his life had changed forever and they struck Shiava's heart. The words that had not been true then, were true now, and they did to him what all of the stress of his journey had been all but unable to do before.

Shiava Horst burst into tears.

They were not loud gasping sobs that would let someone know he had been crying, but thin keening sounds like a wounded child. Lord Bernick's hard look did not soften at all.

"You know something, so tell me. I had the pleasure of talking to Sir Auron about what had happened. And _you_ came up in the conversation. He told me all about how the two of you worked together to defeat the Sinspawn in Bevelle. Now tell me what happened!"

Weeping, Shiava finally told him. The story spilled out of him like water out of a gushing fountain. It felt good to cleanse his soul by telling someone about what he had done. "I…it's my fault" Shiava said, lowering his head to look at the carpet. "It's my fault that this happened to Arenna. So if you want to tell the others…or kill me yourself…then I guess I don't have any right to stop you."

"You're most certainly right, you don't" Bernick said. The governor of Lasgena looked at Shiava with intense eyes. "But I won't do either of those things, least of all tell the others."

Shiava's head snapped upward to look at the old man. "What did you say?" he demanded. "Why not?"

"Because I have no intention of allowing my granddaughter and heir to die at the hands of Lady Yuna and her guardians. I hold Yuna and all of them in the highest regards, even the Al Bhed girl" he assured. "However, Arenna is my own flesh and blood. She's all I have left" he said in a lower voice. "My son committed suicide the moment he found out that she had become Sin. It is only me now. All alone."

"Then you agree with me?" Shiava asked. "You think that there might be some way to save Arenna from Sin without killing her?" he couldn't believe that someone else was actually voicing the idea that he had held so close to his heart for so long. "And you'll help me do it?"

"I will" Bernick said and with that, he disappeared underneath the desk. Shiava looked questioningly at the place where the old man had once been. After a few minutes of rummaging around, Lord Bernick came up with a large black case. The case was made out of Shoopuff leather, and it had golden trim around the edges.

"Um…what is this?" Shiava asked. He tried to ask the box what was inside of it, but it repelled his questions. Arenna's grandfather's eyes sparkled.

"Can't find out, eh? Well, that's because it's a surprise. I bought this thing on a whim from a traveling salesman—O'aaka is his name I think, or Wantz—anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. This man assured me that what's inside is very special."

Shiava's hands went to the soft leather case. He knew what was inside before he even opened it. When he did, his violet eyes opened wide. Inside was a blade as long as one of Auron's swords. It was bright polished black with a single silver stripe down the center of the edge. It was slightly curved, like a giant steak knife. The only problem was—

"It doesn't have a hilt" Shiava said doubtfully. Instead of a hilt, there was just the handle with white cloth wrapped around it to protect the hands. And _hands_ yes, for this was a blade that would be swung with two hands.

"It's not supposed to" said Bernick. "This, Shiava, is Ranna. I want the two of you to get acquainted because this is going to be your new sword. In the language of the Hypello, _ranna_ means Sin Save. It is supposed to mean 'save us from our sins', but I think the circumstances are a bit different now."

Shiava smile grimly to show that he understood. "I'll use it well" he said, scarcely believing that this massive two handed weapon was his. If it was anything like Auron's blade, then he knew he would have trouble using it. He was used to one handed weapons and using a two handed blade would be hard.

Shiava shut the case and picked it up. "T-thank you sir" he said. "I won't fail you. I'll use Ranna well and fight for Arenna's freedom."

Lord Bernick's warm smile did not quite touch his eyes. "I know you will, son. I know you will."


	35. Downward Spiral

**I know, it's been ages since I updated this story. I want to add that the previous chapters 33 chapters I've written come from when I wrote the original story back in 8****th**** grade. These are new ones, and I'm in 12****th**** now, so the tone of the writing may be a bit different from the rest. Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Downward Spiral **_

Yuna looked at the book in front of her. The sunlight was streaming over her shoulder from the glass doors that opened onto her balcony, providing more than enough light to see by.

_Anik vol. 12_ the book was called. It was a nasty book, the cover was a strange grayish color and it had a horrible _soft_ feel to it. The symbol of a staring eye had been emblazoned into the center of the cover underneath its title. The writing inside of the book was in plain Spiran though and not in any kind of combination of letters that she could understand.

Arnis had given her the book earlier that morning so that she could help him decipher the meaning behind the spell that Maleficent was using to control Sin. It was already too late to prevent her from obtaining the name, Arnis had said, but it was _not_ too late to begin finding a way to stop the witch from achieving her goal. As a warrior, the Firstblade General knew nothing about magic, but he was a very keen observer. He had seen Maleficent consult this book several times in the course of the spell working.

The door was knocked upon, and Yuna quickly hid the book underneath her skirt. She _hated_ doing that, the feel of that horrid thing there, but she had no choice. The desk was wide open and she was not very good at hiding things. "Come in!" she called.

Arnis entered the room, looking very cheerful for someone who was called upon to save the world. He looked as though he had just been promoted Grand Measter.

"Good morning, Lady Yuna!" Arnis said. He walked up to the desk and regarded her with kind eyes. He did not, she noticed, make any move to touch her at all; they had agreed upon that last night. "Any progress with the book?" he asked.

"None at all" Yuna said softly. "I know a little black magic, thanks to…" she trailed off. Thinking of her guardians almost brought tears to her eyes. "Thanks to a mage friend of mine, but this is far too advanced for me. I doubt that even Lu…my friend, would know about this."

Arnis nodded. "That's to be expected. Maleficent's a very advanced black mage and her spells aren't always savory." He rubbed his chin and looked at the High Summoner again. She was dressed in her traveling clothes, as if she expected to leave at any moment. Her head was down as if she were ashamed, her aburn hair covering her mismatched eyes, a sign of her Al Bhed heritage.

What Yuna did not know was that her foray into Maleficent's books was merely an activity to keep her busy while he set the sorceress back by making sure she lost one of her more important grimores. His eyes widened a bit as Yuna pulled the book out from under her skirt. Another thing she did not know was that this hideous book had been bound in a mixture of human and Ronso skin; he knew if he told her _that_ charming little detail then she would not even allow it in her room, let alone touch and read it.

"Well, I have a meeting with the measters soon and I just wanted to check how you were doing. You shouldn't spend all day cooped up in your rooms. The Palace Gardens are wonderful this time of year and I—"

"Arnis" Yuna said softly. She said nothing else, but the tired warning in her voice stopped him. He did not want to push her too far away, so far that she would try to head off and fight Maleficent by herself and get killed. No he could not have that. Her time was not yet up; he needed her for one last thing, one Final Summoning that would be the best Spira had seen.

A resurrection of one who had died. The resurrection of Lady Yunalesca, the First Summoner. Of course, in theory, Yuna would die, her life traded for another, but even if she didn't, he was sure a sword in the ribs would do the job.

Arnis left her room without another word and Yuna slammed the book shut. There was something that had been bothering her all day, but she had not been able to extract it from her numb brain. It was like a bad splinter embedded beneath the skin that would not come out. Now, with Arnis' visit, she had figured out what it was. At the ballroom, when he had explained Maleficent's dire plans, he had said something about Sin.

_Maleficent has devised a spell to control the soul within the sacred beast. _

_Sacred?_ she had asked, but he had either ignored her, or not heard her. She was beginning to wonder what sort of twisted triumvirate Shiava had been a part of. A girl who had become Sin, a traitorous swordsman, and a…a what? What _was_ Arnis Kelsin besides a lucky unsent?

Yuna wasn't really sure she wanted to know, but she sensed that it was vital that she find out. She rose from the desk and sat down on the bed, her head in her hands. This as a posture she was getting used to already. It was the posture of despair and thought. She had to get out of Bevelle and find the others. She didn't even know whether or not her guardians were still alive and she had been afraid to ask.

But now she was becoming almost desperate to see their faces again, especially Tidus'. His blue eyes and blond hair appeared in her dreams and made her want to hold him and never let go. _Is this what _he_ thinks about?_ she asked herself. _Is this why _he_ felt the need to take advantage of us all?_

She didn't know and she didn't really care. All she knew was that she had to get out of Bevelle. She would continue to trust Arnis…after all he hadn't done anything—besides being an unsent—to shake her trust in him, and he had a point. Maleficent had to be stopped. But once she had gotten what she needed from him, she would Send him to the Farplane where he belonged. It was her duty as a summoner.

* * *

While Bernick Cedric had been drinking all last night, he was not the only important person to do so. Measter Andrick sat in front of his eighth glass of beer that morning. His head was swimming from the alcohol, but his hands were steady as they readied a ninth.

He was ashamed of himself, as an official of Yevon and worse, as a man. What had he done? He had allowed an entire race to be killed just so that a power-hungry woman could gain a further foothold on her plan. He was no longer able to sleep at night. Ever since before the attack on the Home, he had seen awful images before his closed eyelids when he shut them. But now…now…

If he thought that the nightmares were bad _before_ the attack, those were nothing compared to now. Now the terrible visions came in both daytime and nighttime like waking dreams or hallucinations.

A kind of drunken clarity had occurred to Andrick at this point. He had to stop Maleficent any way possible. He needed support though; he was not a magic-user and his days of swordsmanship were far behind him. That was partly why he had recommended the position of Firstblade General to Arnis Kelsin—

Arnis. That was it._ He _could convince Maleficent to end all of this stupidity about controlling Sin. Maleficent and Arnis were both more ambitious than he was, and they both seemed to get along better than he did with the rest of them. When he was with the two, he felt like a fifth wheel. But maybe he could use that to his advantage. If he got Arnis on his side, he could convince the sorceress-measter that her plan was wrong.

* * *

A shirtless Shiava swung Ranna outward in a wide arc. Wielding the two handed blade was difficult after years of training with one handed swords, but he was already getting used to it. _Jeez, now I know how Auron feels_ he thought. He was practicing in a wide stone courtyard on the grounds of Forest Dive. The sun was already up, but it was still cold in the forest-based manor.

"Shiava!" a voice called him. Tidus was walked toward him across the courtyard, Brotherhood in hand. The blitzball player looked as though he had not slept any better than the sword mage had. Dark shadows rimmed his eyes and the eyes themselves had a haunted look. He missed Yuna.

_Is that how I looked back at the Thunder Plains?_ Shiava wondered, but he obviously couldn't ask that now, for Yevon's sake. "Oh, Tidus" Shiava said instead. He stopped swinging Ranna around and walked over toward his friend, letting the blade drag on the ground.

Tidus took in the sword and then looked at Shiava's face. "Whoa, where did you get that thing from?" he asked, his curiosity peaked in spite of what had happened. "I thought your sword was gone, and we haven't gone into any shops, so…"

"Lord Bernick gave it to me" Shiava said. Seeing Tidus' look, he hastily continued, "It was in the old armory and I have to have a weapon if I'm going to be a successful guardian, right?"

"Yeah, true" Tidus said. He brought Brotherhood up in a guard position. "So, do you want to try out that new sword in a battle?" he asked.

Shiava was startled. "Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked. "I mean—no offense, but you really look like crap."

Tidus looked up at the sky. "It's Yuna" he said. "She's in trouble, I know she is. Whatever they wanted her for it can't be good, right?"

Shiava could have pointed out that the circumstances of Yuna's abduction would point to that conclusion, but he kept his peace.

The two of them faced each other, swords at the ready. "Go easy on me" Shiava said. "I'm just getting the hang of this monster."

Tidus nodded and then attacked, swinging Brotherhood in for a lightning quick hit. Shiava managed to get Ranna up and block the swing before it cut across his chest. He swung the large blade at Tidus, and chopped at his sword-arm. Tidus jumped back before the blade hit the concrete, sending chips of stone flying everywhere.

"You're good" Tidus said as he blocked another blow. Shiava nodded his thanks and attacked once more. He didn't have any idea when they were going to end this, but he was already caught up in the heat of battle.

Tidus rolled away and stabbed from the front. Brotherhood's hook caught the wrapped handle of Ranna and pulled. The weapon flew from Shiava's hands and towards the ground.

But it stopped in midair. Then it flew back into the sword mage's hands.

"How did you do that?" Tidus demanded as he swung and was blocked by the black blade.

"I'm a sword mage, remember?" Shiava said. He closed in at the same time Tidus did—and then both of them were thrown backwards while being drenched with a flood of water that erupted around them.

"What are you two doing?" demanded a sharp voice. Lulu strode out onto the courtyard. The black mage put her hands on her hips. "Lord Bernick has been looking for you all this time! We may have finally found a way to reach Bevelle and find Yuna."

Shiava and Tidus both looked at each other. "Um…" Tidus said sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Lu."

"Never mind, just _hurry_" she stressed.

"Yes ma'am!" the two swordsmen hurried past her like terrified children afraid that their mother will hit them on the way past.

* * *

"The plan is this" Lord Bernick said. They were all gathered at the long table where their first meeting had taken place. Bernick was the only one not sitting and he was pacing rapidly, occasionally knocking his odd black staff against the walls. "Every three weeks, an airship—one of those recovered machina, you know—stops by here so that crystal wood can be loaded onto it and taken to Bevelle. Now, it's not going to be hard to sneak aboard the thing. It's large and the crew is only enough to man it. You can hide among the bundles of wood."

"I like it!" Rikku said in her usual energetic way. "It's the easiest way to get there. We don't even have to walk."

"I'm so glad you find it to your liking" Auron said. He looked levelly at Lord Bernick. "And you think to accompany us."

Bernick looked startled. "How did you…never mind. Yes, I do wish to go with you to Bevelle on this journey. I want to know what is going on with the measters and why the situation with the Al Bhed was even allowed to happen."

"Uh…not to be disrespectful, but we need all the fighters we can get, ya?" said Wakka. "We can't be helpin' you if you get into trouble."

Lord Bernick's eyes were cold. "I can handle myself well." He gripped his staff tightly. "I promise you that I will be a valuable asset to your team if I come with you."

"Kimhari thinks we give Lord Bernick chance" Kimhari rumbled quietly. The Ronso's words seemed to lift some of the tension.

"Believe me; I know the risk I take. I was banished from Bevelle on pain of death if I come back" the old man said. "I don't care about death much, I suppose. My son is gone, my wife is gone and now my granddaughter—I have no family left, only a few friends at court. I want to make a difference and help the High Summoner any way I can." His eyes were steady.

_Wow, he'd make a good guardian_ Shiava thought. Then with humor, he remembered that Bernick once _was_ a summoner himself. If anyone would be able to understand the Code of the Guardian, he would.

"It's decided then" Auron said. "We will take the supply ship to Bevelle."

"And then what?" Tidus demanded. "What do we do then? We don't even know where Yuna is! If—"

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it" Lulu said. She looked at Tidus with a severe, yet at the same time compassionate expression. "Going to Bevelle takes us even closer to Yuna. Do you understand?"

Tidus said nothing, but he did relax visibly.

Shiava had mixed feelings about this all. He was so happy to think that they finally had a way to free Yuna. It was clean happiness—the happiness that a true guardian would feel. But at the same time he knew that there was his unfinished business waiting for him in Bevelle. And that made him feel very, very afraid.


End file.
